The Journey Continues
by YamiPanther
Summary: Revised last 2 chaps COMPLETE!AUish-Rei Kon is forced to reveal his greatest secret of them all. The Heartless. Can he, along with Ranma Saotome and the ancient spirit Yami, defeat the Heartless and save the worlds, once and for all?
1. The Destruction of Beyblade

A/N: Here is the revised version of "The Journey Continues"

Have fun!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you may recognize. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

"The Journey Continues"

You're giving me too many things

Lately you're all I need

You smiled at me and said,

Don't get me wrong I love you

But does that mean I have to meet your father?

When we are older you'll understand

What I meant when I said "No,

I don't think life is quiet that simple"

When you walk away

You don't hear me say please

Oh baby, don't go

Simple and clean is the way you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let go

The daily things that keep us all busy

Are confusing me

That's when you came to me and said,

Wish I could prove I love you

But does that mean I have to walk on water?

When we are older you'll understand

It's enough when I say so

And maybe some things are that simple

When you walk away

You don't hear me say please

Oh baby, don't go

Simple and clean is the way you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let go

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

When you walk away

You don't hear me say please

Oh baby, don't go

Simple and clean is the way you're making me feel tonight

It's hard to let go

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

Hold me

Whatever lies beyond this morning

Is a little later on

Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all

Nothing's like before

"Simple and Clean" written by Utada Hikaru

**_Prologue_**__

People from all over the world came to Moscow Russia just to see the World Championship Beyblade teams to go at it. And they were the Chinese White Tigers, The American All-Starz, the European Majestic's, the home team the Demolition Boys, and the Japanese Bladebreakers.

Lee was fifteen and the captain of the White Tigers. He had shaggy dark hair and warm maroon colored eyes. And since they were in Russia, they were wearing their winter clothing. For Lee it was a dark wolfish grey high collar turtleneck, grey cloth pants, tan ankle high boots, but his normal bandaging covering his arms and fingers. His bit beast was the graceful Galeon.

Mariah was also fifteen like Lee, but the only girl on the team. She kept her bright pink hair in a high ponytail with ribbons that resembled cat ears and laughing chocolate eyes. She wore a bright pink turtleneck, white cloth pants, tan ankle high boots and warm, thick white gloves. Her bit beast was the fierce lynx Gaulx.

Gary was the oldest at sixteen and loved eating food. He had a mohawk dark hair but it was impossible to see his eyes. He wore a thick dark green sweatshirt, dark blue jeans and ankle high black boots. His bit beast was the strong brown grizzly bear Galzzy. Kevin was the youngest at fourteen with short green hair and mischievous violet eyes. He wore a pale blue turtleneck, dark blue cloth pants, ankle high brown boots and thick brown gloves. His bit beast was the playful monkey spirit Galen.

Michael was fifteen and team captain of the All-Starz. He had curly dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes. He wore a yellow tee-shirt, blue jean shorts, a blue-and-white baseball tee-shirt jacket, white tennis shoes and a blue baseball cap. He also uses baseball as his launch for Beyblade.

Emily was also fifteen, and co-captain and genius of the group. She had wavy bright orange hair and shrewd prussian blue eyes. She wore a yellow tee-shirt that had a green collar and a green square patch on the right breast, a green pleated skirt, white tennis shoes, and green armbands around her wrist. Unlike Michael who used baseball as his means of sports, Emily used tennis. Plus, she hates Mariah with a passion.

Steve was also fifteen of the All-Starz, and like the other two, he too, loved sports. But his main sport was football. He had bright green hair which was hidden under a football helmet and soft dark blue eyes. He wore a purple and white football uniform. Eddie was also fifteen, but loved basketball. And he was the only African-American in the All-Starz. He had curly black hair, dark skin and dark eyes. He simply wore a bright red basketball uniform that had the number "00" on the back.

Robert was seventeen and team captain of the Majestic's, and England's Beyblade Champion. He had slicked back wavy dark purple hair and cold ruby red eyes. He wore a white turtleneck, brown leather pants, a dark brown leather vest, knee high dark brown boots, and fingerless green gloves. His mythical bit beast was the griffin Gryfolion.

Oliver was also seventeen, and was France's Beyblade Champion. He had short, curly bright green hair and sweet sapphire blue eyes. He wore a red shirt, a sleeveless bright blue trench coat, off white pants, knee high white boots, and a blue French burette. His mythical bit beast was the pure unicorn Unicolion.

Enrique was seventeen as well and was Italy's Beyblade Champion. He had short, curly pale blond hair and snobbish blue eyes. He wore a pale yellow shirt, a short red tee-shirt jacket, bright green pants, and brown ankle high boots. His mythical bit beast was legendary hydra Ampholion.

Johnny was the youngest at fifteen and was Germany's Beyblade Champion. He had gravity defying dark auburn hair and cold prussian blue eyes. He wore a sky blue tee-shirt, tan shorts, a tan vest, brown ankle high boots and pale blue armbands around the wrists. His mythical bit beast was the fiery serpent Samulion.

Tala was seventeen and team captain of the Demolition Boys. He had wavy blood red hair and icy prussian blue eyes. He wore a high collared white turtleneck, white cloth pants that had a purple stripe going down the hips, and white tennis shoes. His mutated bit beast was the wolf Wolfborg.

Bryan was seventeen and perhaps the most feared member of the group. He had short lilac hair and his lilac eyes revealed an inner madness. He wore a dark blue tee-shirt, a tan fur collared maroon vest, maroon pants, knee high black boots and dark blue armbands around the wrists. His mutated bit beast was a falcon known as Falborg.

Spencer was the oldest at eighteen. He had gravity defying dirty blond hair and cruel emerald eyes. He wore a sleeveless, skin tight orange tee-shirt, a white vest with a green stripe going down the chest, white jeans, brown ankle high boots, a green pilot's cap on his head and dark green fingerless gloves. His mutated bit beast was the massive whale known as Seaborg.

Ian was the youngest at sixteen. He had unruly dark purple hair and evil ruby red eyes. He wore a dark purple tee-shirt, dark olive green overalls, black ankle high boots and olive green gloves. Goggles rested on top of his head. His mutated bit beast was the slippery serpent Vipborg.

Kai Hitawari was thirteen and team captain of the Bladebreakers. He had dark blue hair in the back and light blue grey in the front and cold crimson mocha eyes. He wore a skin tight sleeveless black tee-shirt, baggy dark grey pants, black ankle high boots, a white scar and metallic gloves. His sacred bit beast is Suzuku or Dranzer.

Tyson Granger was thirteen and co-captain of the team. He had shoulder length dark blue hair which was kept in a ponytail and warm navy blue eyes. He wore a yellow tee-shirt, a red tee-shirt jacket, dark blue jean shorts, red and white tennis shoes, a red baseball cap and brown leather gloves. His sacred bit beast is Sieryu or Dragoon.

Max was thirteen and a very cheerful young boy. He had unruly sun kissed blond hair and laughing sapphire eyes. He wore a skin tight green tee-shirt, bright orange overalls, green high tech sneakers and green armbands around the wrists. His sacred bit beast is Genbu or Draciel.

Kenny was the youngest at twelve and the genius of the group. Messy orange hair which pretty much covered his whole face, save for his nose and mouth. So it was impossible to see his eyes. He wore a white tee-shirt, a green tie, grey shorts and shiny black shoes. His bit beast Dizzaga or Dizzi, got trapped in his laptop due to a freaky electrical incident.

Rei Kon was the oldest at eighteen and perhaps the most strangest one of them all. He had ankle length black hair, some with red streaks and pale bluish white eyes. He wore a high collared white turtleneck, a black leather vest, dark blue jeans with dark brown leather belts wrapped around both of his thighs, black army boots, and black gloves. Hanging around his neck on a silver chain was a silver three pointed crown. And he also had a chain running from his vest pocket to his jean pocket filled with tiny silver three pointed crowns. His bit beats was Driger, the fierce white tiger.

What no one knew was that trouble was about to hit the fans.

The audience stared in shock as Kai viciously punched Rei in the stomach. Rei grunted in pain and fell to one knee, wheezing slightly.

"ALRIGHT KON," He yelled. "TIME TO START EXPLAINING WHO OR WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE!!"

Ignoring curious looks by the other people, the Majestic's and the All-Starz ran down to the arena to demand Kai what he was thinking. "Kai, cut this out." Mariah snapped, and helped Rei to stand up.

"What's you're problem man?" Tyson demanded, glaring at Kai.

Kai scowled. "Simple Tyson. Rei has been keeping a secret. Probably long before we even knew him. So, are you going to explain?" Kai hissed out. Mariah cried out as Rei shoved her and lunged for Kai. Lee caught Mariah and could only watch as Rei seemingly prepared to rip Kai apart.

Or was he?

Rei savagely lifted Kai up and glared into Kai's crimson mocha orbs. "You listen to me and you listen will Hitawari."

He paused and glared harshly at the other fifteen beybladers. "And that goes for you guys as well." He snarled. They froze at his harsh voice. Something about it sent a chill down their spines. "Right now this world is on the brink of total destruction." Rei said coldly.

WHAT?!

Tyson stared at the older teen in shock. "You're joking, right?" He tried weakly. Rei shook his head. "No I am not Tyson." Came the snappish reply.

To their amazement, a strange black visor appeared over Rei's eyes as he scanned the entire arena. "Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that the Heartless planned all this." He mumbled. There was a soft flash of white light, and he was holding a gleaming sword. The thick golden handle caught Boris' eyes, and the long blade gleamed underneath the arena lights.

Emily glared at Rei. She always knew there was something wrong about the older neko-jin teenager. "And what may I ask is a Heartless?!" She demanded shrilly.

Rei sighed. "You'll see soon." He grumbled, and focused his attention on the nervous Demolition Boys, who gulped as those icy pale bluish eyes lingered on them. "I am only going to say this once Tala. Give back their bit beasts." Tala's sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously. "And why should I Kon?" He snarled.

Pale bluish eyes flashed a hellish red.

The tips of Rei's fingers begin to take on an eerie yellow glow. Rei grinned nastily. That cruel smile sent chills down everyone's spine.

"I seriously doubt that you or the other Demolition Boys are immune to lightning."

Tala shivered and quickly pulled out his Wolfborg beyblade. With a glare to the other three, they too, did the same. After ten different flashes of colored light, the White Tigers, the All-Starz, Kai and Max received their bit beasts.

Suddenly, about twenty creatures rose from the ground and separated them from Rei. They had the size of a small child, entirely black bodies, round heads, nasty looking claws, quivering antennas, and glowing yellow eyes.

"Shadows!" Rei hissed.

One leapt into the air, and for his throat. Scowling, Rei raised the Dream Sword over his head, and impaled the Shadow on it. Dust rained down on him as a pure crystallized ruby red heart flew away. Rei spat out some dust from his lips.

Nasty.

Now, before Rei could attack any of the others, they blended into the ground. Damn. He had to wait until they came back up.

Not now. Not now.

THERE!

Rei's body blurred as he rushed forward and reappeared on the other side of the arena. For a second, nothing happened. Then, with sick realization, Tyson saw each Shadow screech in pain before bursting into dust and ruby red crystallized hearts flying away. Rei snorted and kept the weapon close.

"Yo, Chief, ya got email." Chirped Kenny's laptop, Dizzi. Kenny blinked and sat down and opened his laptop curiously.

"Let's see what it says, shall we?" He said quietly and clicked on it.

To: Keymaster and co.

From: Unknown

The closer to the light you are

The stronger your shadow becomes

"What does that mean?" Kevin asked curiously, coming up behind Kenny, reading the message himself. "What does what mean?" Rei asked, walking over. Kenny gulped at the sight of the weapon, but quickly composed himself. "This." He pointed to the email and Rei silently read it to himself, eyes going wide with shock. "Rei?" Mariah asked in alarm, seeing his lightly colored skin going deathly pale.

Why was Rei uneasy?

Rei shifted on his feet, and glanced down at the ground behind them. Lee suddenly saw the reason why his friend was so uneasy. The lights above them shone down on the arena, which should've had casted shadows from everyone. They did not.

Save for one.

Rei's.

All of a sudden, Rei's shadow arched it's back and went from two dimensional to third dimensional. It looked exactly like Rei, save for the black skin, black clothes and even the glowing yellow eyes.

Rei was backing up slowly, fearfully, as his shadow began to shift forms. Growing larger, more demonic. Soon, a forty foot black creature with huge wings, razor sharp talons, glowing yellow eyes, and a gaping hole in its chest in the form of a heart stood in the place of his shadow.

"What is that thing?" Max yelped.

"Darkside."

Was all Rei had the time to say before Darkside slammed his fists into the ground. Purplish black liquid bubbled around those huge hands and through the mist, Rei could make out even more Shadows forming.

Yipping and growling, the Shadows only target was Rei and they lunged for him hungrily.

"Rei! Look out!" Mariah cried. "WIND!" Rei yelled. A dome of hazy white mist instantly flew up all around him, protecting him from the Shadows claws.

Kai could barely hear his grandfather and Boris yelling for security to get rid of the massive Heartless. "Aim for it's hands!" Rei yelled, dodging another Shadow. This confused them. "What are you talking about?" Rei managed to avoid another hit by a Shadow and yelled over to them.

"Darkside's weak spot is his hands! Aim right for them!" He yelled and yelped as he got sliced in the arm. Hissing angrily, he impaled his sword upon the Heartless and smirked as it exploded into dust and a pure heart flew off.

"Time to end this!" Rei growled under his breath. He held the Dream Sword over his head and his body and the weapon was engulfed in a soft ruby red light.

"SONIC BLADE!" He yelled.

The kids could only gasp in shock as Rei became a red and black blur, slashing at the Heartless General's hands, creating swirls of blue and golden energy to fill the area. Darkside roared in pain and Rei smirked as his Scan showed that Darkside's health went down to zero. It would seem that his attacks were much more powerful than they were fourteen years ago. However, his grin faded as he realized something was terribly wrong.

The group of beyblader's scrambled behind Rei who had jumped back as Darkside slammed his fists once more into the ground, beady yellow eyes never leaving Rei's pale bluish ones. The Dream Sword promptly vanished.

Mariah's eyes widen in fear as she felt a hot liquid bubble over her feet. Fearfully, she looked down and shrieked with fear. Bubbling over their feet was a dark purplish black liquid that held a shot of ice blue and ruby red. "Damn it." Rei hissed as black mists began to wrap tightly around him. And only him. Not the others.

******Do not forget You Are The One Who Will Open The Door To The Light...**

The last thing anyone heard was the raspy laughter of the Heartless and those glowing evil yellow eyes.

Then nothing at all.

* * *

I hope this version is a bit better than the last one. And I'm nearing completion of this story. All I need is the Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memories, then the Kingdom Hearts II and it's over. Or will it? 


	2. Ranma Saotome and Yami arrive

A/N: Here we go with the revised edition of "The Journey Continues"

Have fun everyone....

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Same as before

**_Chapter 1_**__

Time Unknown

"Ow, my head." Tyson groaned as he slowly came too. His eyes slowly opened. A stone wall greeted him.

What the-?!

Tyson sat up. Big mistake. Dizziness washed over. He cursed under his breath, until it went away. Finally, he managed to stand up without a problem. The dragon tamer looked around curiously. Somehow, he was standing in an alley of some sorts. Boxes and barrels lined the dirty, narrow street. All around him were the unconscious bodies of the other beyblade teams. Minus Rei, that is.

"Wake up you guys!" Tyson yelled. His yelling effectively woke the others up. "Not so loud Tyson." Max whimpered, rubbing his throbbing head. "Sorry." Tyson mumbled.

"Where are we?" Kevin asked as he finally looked around. "I'm not sure." Kenny mused. Mariah froze and looked around frantically. "Guys? Where's Rei?" She questioned, a hint of panic was in her voice.

"Hey, I think he's waking up." Said a soft male voice. "You have the knack for stating the obvious Ranma." Grumbled a rich, deep voice. Rei groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

Pale bluish white met stormy bluish grey and ruby red.

"Ack!" Rei leapt back in shock. He realized he was looking at two teenagers his age. Both were watching him with amusement dancing in their eyes. The one with bluish grey eyes grinned widely.

"Hi there, my name's Ranma, nice ta meetcha!" He said cheerfully.

And the one with the ruby red eyes gave a small smile. "And I am Yami. May I ask what is your name?"

Rei blinked. "It's Rei Kon."

Rei got a good look at the two teenagers. Ranma was tall, nearly as tall as he was. Ranma had thick, shiny black hair which was tied back into a pigtail. He wore a red silk Chinese shirt, black silk tunic pants and flat black fighting slippers.

Yami on the other hand, was a bit more unusual. Yami was only five feet in height with a very strange hair style. It was spiked up black with vibrant blood red tips and golden blond lightning shape bangs framing his sharp Asian face. He wore a skin tight black leather top, dark blue jeans which clung to his lean figure, black boots, a leather collar around his neck and hanging around his neck on a thick tan cord was a three dimensional gold pyramid with a strange eye symbol on it.

Rei's sharp eyes zoned in on the card deck holder that was tied to Yami's belt. Very curious indeed.

"Let me guess, you're world was destroyed by the darkness?" Ranma asked suddenly. Rei gave a reluctant nod. Not really wanting to tell them his world had already been destroyed years ago. Hm, now time to figure out which world he was in.

Rei looked around and paled. Right now he was standing in the middle of an old fashioned stone court yard. To his right and left were two old fashioned steel lamps. The kind that hasn't been seen since the eighteen hundreds.

On the far left was a café and he recognized the gypsy woman in the pale green dress that was casually leaning against one of the café's pillars. Connecting to the café was a familiar shop with the word "Items" in bright glowing green letters. Up in front of the steps was a two story building with the neon words "Accessory Shop" flashing brightly.

No way.

Somehow he was standing in Traverse Town. The same way it stood when he first started out in his battle against the Heartless.

But how was that even possible?!

The massive group trudged out of the alley and out into an eighteenth century stone court yard. "Where could he be?" Emily wondered. It was Ian who spotted Rei.

"He's over there." The small teen pointed out the tall figure that was Rei Kon. Tyson looked over to see Rei talking to two teenagers he did not recognize. So he did the best thing he could do. He called out Rei's name.

"Hey Rei!"

"Hey Rei!"

Rei flinched at Tyson's loud voice. "Could he be any louder?" He grumbled under his breath as the other Beybladers ran up to him. "Who are you?" Kevin asked rudely to Ranma and Yami. Rei shot Kevin a very nasty look. Kevin grew quiet.

"Watch it Kevin." Rei growled. "Jeeze, what's your problem man?" Tyson asked curiously. Rei just growled again, and Tyson chose not to talk. Which was probably wise for him.

While Ranma and Yami got to know the other teenagers, Rei silently looked up to the starry sky, remembering how fun it was to look at the stars on Destiny Islands. _Kairi..._ he thought wistfully. _Will I ever be able to come back to you?_

A lone pearly white tear fell from his eyes as he remembered that his best friend; Riku, would never be able to see the stars agin. For not too long ago, did he loose his three closest friends. Riku, Donald Duck; Disney Castle's royal wizard, and Goofy; the captain of Disney Castle's royal knights.

The three had lost their hearts to the Heartless. And it was only because that he, Rei Kon, couldn't handle an army of the wretched creatures. So the three lost their lives, saving his in the process. But, a miracle had occurred. Somehow, their hearts merged with Rei's. Never leaving him alone.

"Is everything okay?" Rei looked up into Mariah's concern eyes. She had seen the single tear fall from his eyes and had been worried. He gave a sad smile. "I'm fine Mariah." He told her.

_"Sora..."_ A sweet angelic voice called.

Rei's ears perked up. _"Sora..."_ This time, everyone heard the sweet voice calling. Rei froze. He knew that voice very well. But it couldn't be her after all these years. Could it?

"Sora!"

Rei was tackled by a dark red blur. The group leapt back though, mainly from shock. The red blur revealed to be a very beautiful young girl around the age of eighteen. Shoulder length dark red hair framed the round face as large dark blue eyes looked up into Rei's pale bluish ones. The girl wore a simple white silk tee-shirt, dark blue skirt and knee high black boots.

She hugged Rei tightly, as if she was afraid that Rei would disappear. "I can't believe you're really back." She sobbed into his chest.

"Kairi, is it really you?" He whispered. The girl smiled. "Of course it is you lazy bum. Who did you think I was?" Rei almost laughed at his old nick name, but he held her close to him.

Watching this, made Mariah very jealous. "Just who do you think you are?!" She yelled angrily.

The girl; Kairi, looked over and gave a sad smile.

"Forgive me, but my name is Kairi. It's nice to meet you all." She turned to Rei with a curious look in her eyes.

"Sora? Where's Riku?" She questioned. Sadness swarmed Rei and he looked away, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Kairi, something bad happened a few months ago..." He trailed off. Her eyes grew wide. "W-what happened?" She asked shakily.

Rei drew in a sharp breath. "Riku, Donald and Goofy sacrificed their lives so I could escape from the Heartless." He whispered, thick pearly white tears falling from his pale bluish eyes, as he could still recall the grief and horror he had felt at the time and still did.

"Oh gods...Riku..." She burst into fresh tears, clinging to Rei tightly. "We're the only ones left of Destiny Islands." She whispered. "I know." Rei said just as quietly.

Lee frowned. It would seem that Rei held this girl in his heart and not Mariah. Maybe now he could get a chance with the pink haired girl? Well, it was worth a shot. For now, the twenty two teenagers decided to let the two cry out their pain and grief from loosing some very close friends.

Yami stiffened when he sensed a great darkness brewing...right underneath Rei and Kairi's feet.

His slanted red eyes grew wide in shock. "Rei!" He yelled out. Rei looked up sharply. Wondering what was wrong with Yami. He saw that the teen was pointing frantically down at the ground and Rei realized why.

Rei and Kairi both looked down to see familiar dark purplish black liquid bubbling over their feet. Pure black mists were rising from the ground, enwrapping the two into darkness.

The mists were pushing the two away. "Sora!" Kairi shrieked, holding out her hand, which was being covered by the black mists. "Kairi!" Rei screamed, reaching frantically for the girl. He was about to grab her hand when both were engulfed entirely in the dark mists. "REI!" They screamed.

Suddenly, the black mists exploded and Rei stumbled forward slightly, perfectly unharmed. But Kairi was nowhere to be found. Resting firmly in Rei's hand was an unusual weapon. It was crafted to look like a giant key? The blade was pure silver while the hilt was a beautiful shade of gold and the handle was a dark grey. Hanging from the hilt was a silver chain with a familiar symbol. The same symbol that was on the Dream Sword.

**Keyblade...**

** Keyblade....**

** Keyblade....**

"Kairi!"

Rei called frantically, not even paying attention as the Keyblade vanished in a twinkle of white tiny stars.

"KAIRI!"

The beybladers, plus Ranma and Yami felt sorry for Rei when they realized he just lost the girl he loved. Then Rei did something they did not expect. Rei let loose an inhuman wail. A wail that was full of fury and anguish.

Ranma placed a gentle hand on Rei's shaking body, still nerved by the wail. "Don't worry Rei, we'll get her back. We'll help you get her back. All of us, right guys?" The others nodded. Rei looked up with red rimmed eyes and gave a weak smile.

"Thank you." Was all he said.

Kai was silent before he spoke up. The first time since they arrived to Traverse Town actually. "I think it's time you started to explain yourself Kon." He said icily. Tyson glared at Kai. "What's your problem man? He just lost someone close to him!" He yelled angrily. He was silenced by Kai's glare.

Rei sighed. Are you sure about this?Driger asked gently. /I don't have a choice Driger./ Rei grumbled. /However, I can only tell them the basics./ Driger frowned. Good luck then.He muttered and promptly went to sleep until he was needed once more.

"Fine. We can go to the Second District. But, do you mind waiting a bit longer so I can change out of these clothes?" Robert realized that Rei's clothes were covered in dust, grime and black blood. Ranma and Yami were confused. They had been in Traverse for several weeks and never knew about this 'Second District'. So how does Rei know of this?

"Where is this Second District you speak of?" Yami asked curiously. Rei pointed to the Accessory Shop, which stood out in this old eighteenth century place.

"Behind the Accessory Shop is a set of stairs leading up to the third level and to the Second District," he explained. "And in the Second District is a bunch of shops, a hotel and a Gizmo Shop." Rei gave a thin smile.

"And if you don't mind I'll be at the shop for a few minutes." Kenny raised an eyebrow. "You don't have any money." He pointed out.

Rei burst out laughing. Soft husky laughter filled the First District, making everyone who heard it, smile. "Actually, I have well over sixty-five billion in gold coins." He explained sheepishly. Cue outburst in 5...4...3...2...1...

"WHAT?!" They screamed.

Rei chuckled. "Didn't you know? The Heartless, when taken out, leave behind either items, MP balls, HP balls and money." He said, tilting his head. "What are MP and HP balls?" Emily asked, interested. Rei looked at her funny.

"Magic points and health points. Why?" Emily face faulted at this. "Follow me." Rei called over his shoulder, bounding up the steps. That also included the set next to the shop and behind the store.

Everyone was in awe at the massive buildings and architecture. Standing behind a red and white door that led to the upper level of the Accessory shop was a funny looking little creature. A round white head and a tiny white body. It had two tiny purplish wings and a weird looking pom-pom protruding from its head. At their curious looks, he explained what it was. A Moogle. A very helpful creature that did various tasks.

"Here we are." Rei gestured to the door in front of them. It was a forty foot wooden door underneath an even taller stone arc. Rei pushed the doors open and they rushed forward. The doors slammed behind Rei, who had gone last. Sealing them in the Second District.

Second District

"Wow. This place is amazing." Kevin said in awe, looking around in shock. The Second District was huge. In front was a stone wall and leading to the right were indeed colorful shops and to the left was a huge hotel leading all the way to the other side which was where Lee figured the Gizmo Shop to be.

Rei looked up sharply, his Scan visor kicking in instantly. "What is it?" Bryan whispered. "Trouble." Rei growled. And Ranma and Yami saw why.

About ten Shadow Heartless loomed in front of them.

Rei grinned widely, showing off his needle point fangs. He pointed the Keyblade, which he had willed to come forth, at the Heartless. "FORCE!" He called. The massive ball of darkness crushed the Shadows, causing them to burst into dust and ruby red hearts flying away.

Yami was amused. _So he can use magic. Most impressive._ Yami was surprised to see the Keyblade disappear back into Rei's heart.

Woah.

"How'd you do that?" Johnny asked in shock. "That was the Graviga spell. Very useful when crushing the Heartless." Rei explained. He looked over to the right to see the Mad Hatter's house of hats and clothes and smiled.

"Can you guys wait a few minutes? I'll be right back." Before anyone could say anything, Rei simply faded out. Oliver shivered.. "I hate it when he does that." He mumbled.

Rei reappeared about five minutes later, in a completely new outfit. His abrupt entrance caused them to stumble back slightly. Rei snickered at their expressions. It was priceless. Tyson blinked and got a good look at Rei's choice of clothing.

Rei no wore no shirt, which showed off his muscular abs; causing Emily and Mariah to blush heavily, a low cut open black leather vest, a short sleeved white jacket, baggy dark blue jeans with dark brown leather belts wrapped firmly around his thighs and lower calves, ankle length black boots, fingerless black gloves trimmed in shimmering blue, and his chain necklace and other chain remained the same. Mariah gave a wolf whistle and Rei blushed.

"Why black and blue?" Spencer asked curiously. Rei raised an eyebrow. And Spencer realized how stupid his question was. Rei's hair was black with red highlights. It only made sense that he would wear clothes to match his hair.

Rei lead them to the hotel on the other side and just as he reached the lobby doors, more Shadows chose to attack at that moment. They were only there for a second before Rei blasted them with a Firaga spell and calmly went inside as did they.

"So now what?" Tyson asked, dumbly. Rei simply smiled and led them to a bright red door.

Muttering under his breath, Rei managed to unlock it and ushered them into the cozy room. Inside was a warm bed, a dresser, a book shelf and a table with a blue chest on it. The chest's keyhole was glowing softly.

Very strange.

"Sit." Rei instructed. They sat in various places. Some even stood. "Explain now." Kai hissed. Rei sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Alright, I'm not sure if you know this, but in case you don't here goes. There are many worlds out there," He was interrupted by a scoffing Emily. "That's impossible. The theory of parallel worlds is only a theory and does not exist!" Rei glared at her. "Let me finish." He snapped.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, there are many other worlds out there. But they were supposed to remain a secret." He grew quiet. "They were a secret. That is until the Heartless came and every world became connected."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Connected how?" He asked. "It was because of the Heartless that the worlds became linked to one another." Rei then shook his head for some reason.

"Oh, and Emily? I happen to be living proof on the 'theory' of parallel worlds." He pointed out dryly. This hit the Beybladers rather hard. "You're really not from our world are you?" Kenny asked carefully. Rei blinked before giving a sad smile at the younger boy. "No, I'm not."

Kai scowled. "Then where exactly is your world?" He sneered. "It was destroyed by the Heartless years ago." Rei answered bitterly. "As far as I know, Riku, Kairi and I were the only ones to escape it." His eyes grew misty. "My friends are dead and Kairi was taken by the Heartless. Any more questions?" He growled.

They hastily shook their heads. Ranma and Yami filed a mental note to the back of their brains to not make Rei mad. Rei may be gentle and kind. But he was scary as hell when mad.

"You guys can stay in the First District." Rei said after a heavy pause. "Why?" Eddie snipped. Rei sighed. They were defiantly naive and it would get them killed if they weren't careful.

"The First District is void of any Heartless. The Second and Third District is another story." Rei muttered. "We can take these Heartless." Tyson boasted. "Right guys?" He asked of the other Bladebreakers. Rei growled under his breath, before lifting Tyson up by his throat and gave a slight squeeze. Making the dragon blader croak.

"You are not to fight the Heartless. If you lost your heart to them, **you** will become like them. A Heartless. A being of darkness that knows only to destroy all life." Rei snarled.

He dropped Tyson who landed painfully on his back. Coughing slightly, Tyson glared at Rei. But deep in his heart, he knew Rei was right. How he knew, he wasn't sure.

"Come on." Rei grumbled.

Silence rang in the air as they trudged reluctantly back to the First District.

First District

"You guys can stay here, I'm gonna find a way out of Traverse Town so I can track down Kairi." Rei told them as they sat down on the chairs at the Café. "They'll keep coming for you out of nowhere." Said a low voice. Rei stiffened. He knew that voice. He looked up slowly to see a man in his early twenties dressed in a simple white tee-shirt, a short sleeved black jacket, black jeans and plain dark brown boots. Rei frowned.

"As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." Lee bit back a surprised yelp as the strange key shape sword appeared in Rei's hands once more. "Who are you?" Tala asked icily. The man reached out for the Keyblade, only to withdraw as the Keyblade sent a warning spark of energy at the man. Rei grinned.

"It seems the Keyblade doesn't like you Leon." He teased. The man's dark eyes grew wide. "How did-?" He didn't get to finish as a whole army of Shadows filled the First District. "Damn." Leon cursed as he withdrew a massive silver sword that Rei knew was the Gunblade.

"Ranma, Yami and I will head to the Third District." He eyed the Beybladers. "You guys stay here and help both Leon and Yuffie with this." He ordered. The bladers nodded. "Time to go." Ranma and Yami yelped as Rei grabbed their hands. And in a flash of white light, they were standing in the court yard of the Third District.

"Before anything can happen, I want you two to use these." Rei said quietly. And from his chest, merged two glowing balls of white light. Which shot into both of the stunned teens chests.

"What was that all about?" Ranma asked, still trying to get over his shock. Rei smiled sadly. "I just gave you Donald and Goofy's ultimate weapons. Just listen to your heart and they'll come forth."

Shrugging, the two listened to their hearts, recalling at the same time the urge to protect their friends and family. In a flash of silvery white light, Ranma and Yami were holding two weapons. For Ranma a shield and Yami an unusual looking staff.

Ranma's shield was magnificent. When held properly, it covered his chest entirely from harm. It was a deep shade of purple with a silver curved heart on the front. On top of the heart was a three pointed gold crown. Surrounding the heart were silver wings.

"That shield you are holding Ranma is the Save the King." Rei said quietly.

Yami looked at his staff in awe, for he could feel the power rolling off of it in waves. The staff appeared to be three feet total in length. The handle was a beautiful shade of blue with a red ruby on top surrounded by a crown of gold. On top of the golden crown was a large purple jewel.

"That is the Save the Queen staff."

Rei was startled out of his talking by a tiny keychain landing in his hand. It was a pearl white heart with a golden vine going through. Rei gave an excited yelp and quickly attached the keychain to the Kingdom Keyblade. Ranma and Yami stared at the Keyblade. It was defiantly different this time.

The handle was a dark blue green with a curved yellow gold that blended into sea blue. The blade was two feet in length and also a sea blue in color. Golden webbing was woven over it, starting from the hilt to the tip of the sword. At the very end of the sword was a golden heart that stuck outward with three golden spikes. The same keychain that had landed in Rei's hand, was attached to the sword.

"This is Ultima, the ultimate Keyblade." Rei explained at their dumbfounded looks. "Basically we are using the most powerful weapons ever known?" Yami asked. Rei nodded.

Suddenly, the ground shook. And that was when pillars of stones rose up, blocking off the door to the First District, and the stairs. "This is not good." Ranma said uneasily, his danger sense was screaming at him to move.

About six new Heartless appeared in front of them. They were slightly bigger than Shadows. They were clad in blue armor, with silver metallic armbands, and a silver armor helmet. It's four clawed hand seemed to be dipped in blood, and their yellow eyes glared at the trio. Pulsing on its chest, where its heart would've been, was a black heart outlined in blood red with a blood red "x" going through it. "The Heartless crest." Rei mumbled.

Soldiers.

Just great.

Now what?

* * *

I know it sounds similar, but if you hadn't noticed, there are indeed new changes. You just have to pay attention really hard. See you until next time.... 


	3. Guard Armor Reveals Himself

A/N: Here is the next revised chapter.

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

**_Chapter 2_**__

Ranma paled. "What are we gonna do?" He asked weakly. Rei frowned. "Let me take care of them." He answered with a deadly smile. He pointed the Ultima Keyblade at the dancing Soldiers and said one word:

"FIRAGA!" He roared out.

Ranma and Yami stared in shock as a fireball, about the size of a watermelon, shot out from the sword. It separated into six baseball size balls of fire, and shot out at the Soldiers. Each Soldier screeched in pain before exploding into dust and crystal hearts flying away.

"At least they're gone." Yami offered lamely. Rei shook his head. "They were only the generals. It's their boss we have to worry about." He said grimily. Ranma frowned.

"Boss?" He repeated.

Rei eyed him warily. "Yes 'boss'. The boss is the one who leads the Heartless on each world." He explained. Before Rei could say anything else, the ground shook dangerously and Rei knew that the Boss was coming.

The trio jumped back as two huge purple robotic feet slammed onto the ground, right in the same area where they had been standing previously. Couple with it was a huge purple body looking like a cannon with the Heartless crest on its chest, huge robotic arms with nasty looking claws, and a round head that looked like the face of a pepper shaker? Very unusual.

The black Scan visor flashed over Rei's eyes as he scanned in the data coming from the giant boss. "That's Guard Armor. You guys better watch out for his spinning arms and legs. They can wipe you out with one hit." Rei said darkly.

"What are his weak points?" Yami asked slowly, holding his new staff tightly. "His arms, legs and torso." Came the reply. One of the arms was heading right for Ranma.

"Ranma!" Rei yelled.

"Move!" Yami screamed.

Ranma barely jumped out of the way, to avoid getting sliced and diced. "Thanks guys." Ranma said weakly, landing next to Rei. "Come on. We better get rid of him before he does any more damage." Rei said angrily.

"WIND!"

Ranma bit his lips, to keep from crying out as a barrier of wind swirled around him, Yami and Rei. "It's a defensive spell. It'll lower the damage done to us." Rei explained.

Yami chose to attack the legs, and Ranma went after the hands. That left the torso for Rei. Rei began to power up. Blood red energy flared up around him as the same energy began to cover the Keyblade.

"Power!" He yelled.

Rei leapt into the air and brought Ultima down in an arc on the giant purple robotic torso, lightning cackling everywhere as he did so. "Got ya!" Rei yelled out. He threw the still glowing Keyblade at the torso. The second it hit the giant robotic part, golden lightning flashed across the battle field. The Keyblade flew back to him, and he caught it with perfect ease. Luckily Ranma and Yami didn't have any trouble with their parts.

Rei was impressed. /They could make great guardians./ He mused. Driger was also impressed. You're right.He agreed.

Guard Armor stood back before crumpling into a heap. The body flashed an ice blue as an icy blue crystallized heart flew away and the Heartless vanished. "Is it over?" Ranma asked, panting slightly. He had a slight cut on his right cheek and his ribs got slashed a bit. Yami was a bit winded and his right arm was twisted slightly. Rei smiled tiredly.

"Yes. Guard Armor is gone." _For now anyway_, Rei added silently.

"Heal." Rei whispered.

Golden bells rang through out the air and soft petals floated over Ranma and Yami, sending warmth coursing through them. Ranma was amazed as he could feel his own healing abilities speed up and Yami was stunned as he felt the bones in his right arm straighten out. As if nothing happened.

"What just happened?" Yami asked in awe.

"Healing spell." Rei said weakly, swaying slightly. "Woah!" Ranma ran forward and caught Rei before he could collapse. "Are ya okay?" He asked worriedly.

Rei gave a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just used up to much magic." Rei answered, surprised by Ranma's concern. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a tiny vial of red liquid with golden dust. He tossed it into the air and suddenly stood up. "Er, what was that?" Rei grinned. "Elixir. Does wonder to restore magic." He answered cheerfully.

Yami got a sudden thought. "How are we supposed to get back to the First District?" He asked curiously. Rei pointed to a door that was behind them. "See that door over there." They turned to see a large wooden door painted a pale sea blue with golden crescent moons and stars.

"Yes. What about it?" Yami asked. Rei's grin grew even wider. "That door leads back to the First District."

Rei jumped over their heads and inserted the Keyblade into the large lock next to it. The two heard a click and the door suddenly opened on its own. And they could see the café through it. "Let's go!" Rei called over his shoulder. Ranma and Yami exchanged smiles and took off after their new friend.

First District

Leon, a dark haired female ninja going by the name of Yuffie, and a sweet looking brunette haired girl in a pink dress named Aerith, had managed to keep the Shadow Heartless at bay. That is, until about ten minutes ago, when each Shadow had screeched in pain and burst into dust.

Tyson was stumped. "What just happened?" He asked in confusion. Happiness sparked in Yuffie's dark blue eyes as the girl jumped up and down in excitement. "The Keymaster actually did it!" She cheered.

"I hope they are alright." Aerith said worriedly. Suddenly the boarded up doors, which were no longer boarded up, opened up slowly and the three that had left stumbled in. The doors slammed behind them.

"Did you guys win?" Kevin asked as they surrounded the trio. "We sure did." Ranma said excitedly.

"But you should've seen Rei! He was amazing!" Rei blushed. Oliver then realized something. "Oh, right after you guys left, we found this weird mark by the café." Oliver pointed to where three dark blue hearts were connected in a circle. Rei's eyes lit up.

"It's a Trinity Mark!" He said eagerly.

Ranma and Yami peered over Rei's shoulder. "Just follow what I do." Rei whispered to them. They nodded, albeit reluctantly. "All you need to do is stand at one of the hearts points." Rei instructed. Ranma stood at the medium sized one and Yami at the smallest. Rei stood at the largest heart.

"Jump."

They jumped once, and a blinding flash of white light lit up the entire First District. The bladers and three fighters had to shield their eyes to avoid going blind. And when the light faded, Rei, Ranma and Yami were gone.

Actually, not really.

After the light had faded, the three teens were standing in the area above the café. "How did we get up here?" Ranma asked in shock. Rei ignored his question and headed over to the red chest in the corner. Rei tapped the chest once and it popped open. Yami saw with his sharp eyes that Rei had pocketed what looked to be a postcard? Into his pocket.

Before Ranma and Yami could blink, Rei actually jumped over the edge and landed on the ground with a fluid grace. _Maybe I could try using my puzzle's magic to get us down_, Yami mused.

"Ranma do you trust me?"

Ranma blinked at the question. He only knew Yami for a short time and knew that their was more to the mysterious teen than meets the eye. But, after fighting the Guard Armor, he felt a strong connection to the teenager. And he nodded. Yami smiled.

"Thank you."

Yami simply grabbed Ranma's right hand and focused his will on his golden puzzle. Ranma yelped as dark purplish black mists swirled around them. For a second, his vision had gone black, but he could soon see that he was safely on the ground.

Rei sat down on a chair at the café and faced his friends with twinkling pale bluish white eyes, and finally he spoke. "Now you guys can come along with me onto the gummi ship to the other worlds." After a much heated discussion, it was decided that both the Bladebreakers and the White Tigers would go as a double team and Bryan also chose to go, for reasons he refused to release. Both Ranma and Yami wanted to go to help their new friend out.

"Yuffie," he began. The young female ninja perked up after hearing her name. "Do you think you can get these guys a new outfit? Don't worry. I'll pay." He reassured her.

Yuffie's dark blue eyes gleamed excitedly as she dragged the mentioned people to the clothing store in the Second District away.

Rei burst out laughing as Leon silently prayed to the gods for the unfortunate victims of Yuffie's obsessive shopping spree.

About an hour later, Yuffie returned with the gang and Rei gave an impressed whistle. Yuffie defiantly had good taste. It was Mariah who he focused on the most and almost blushed at what she was wearing. She now wore a high collared sleeveless dark reddish pink tee-shirt, extremely short blue jean shorts which showed off her lean figure, knee high black boots that had a silver chain hanging from the zippers and hanging from the chains were hot pink feathers, black goggles resting around her neck, a loose midnight blue belt wrapped around her waist and fingerless black gloves.

Lee now wore a sleeveless dark grey jacket; on the back of his jacket was a black lion, but no shirt as his muscular upper body was revealed, dark blue jeans, ankle length black army boots, and his normal bandages wrapped around his arms.

Gary of course didn't wear a shirt, which showed off his muscular upper body, dark green pants, ankle length black army boots, but he did have a lot of black leather belts over lapping his chest, forming an "x" over his chest, and some were wrapped around his upper and lower arms. Written down on the side of his pant legs were the _kanji_ characters for grizzly bear and great strength and flashing silver.

Kevin now wore pale blue sleeveless tee-shirt, dark blue jean shorts, simple tan army boots that barely reached his ankles, and midnight blue armbands wrapped around his wrists. On the back of his tee-shirt was the _kanji_ character for spider monkey.

Now onto the Bladebreakers.

Kai was wearing a short sleeved black silk tee-shirt; Yuffie explained that the tee-shirt was resistant to dark magic attacks and would not rip so easily, dark blue grey jeans, ankle length black army boots, fingerless black gloves and his usual white silk scar around his neck. On the back of his tee-shirt was a blood red phoenix.

Tyson was wearing a very short sleeved yellow tee-shirt with a long sleeved red denim jacket over it, plain blue jeans, fingerless sky blue gloves, red and white high-tech sneakers, and of course his normal red-and-white baseball cap on top of his head. On the back of his jacket was a shiny blue dragon.

Max wore a dark green short sleeved tee-shirt, dark blue jean shorts, fingerless blood red gloves, and simple white tennis shoes. On the back of his tee-shirt was a dark purple tortoise with a hard black shell. (Kenny chose not to come)

Bryan had chosen something quiet simple. A plain dark blue tee-shirt, a sleeveless black vest, dark blue jeans, and ankle length black army boots. Only his lilac armbands remained the same. On the back of his vest was a fierce looking falcon.

Ranma was now wearing a sleeveless dark bluish green Chinese tee-shirt that had black lines crossing around his neck, black silk tunic pants that had the ankles tied, flat black slippers, and black bracers around his wrists.

Yami just wore a sleeveless black leather tee-shirt, a midnight blue denim jacket, a simple blue jeans, black leather shoes, and of course the pyramid he wore around his neck remained the same. He also still carried his normal cards in their card holder.

"The gummi ships is already. You guys ready to leave?" Rei asked. Mariah nodded. "Then let's go." Said Rei. "Good luck." Aerith said quietly as the ten friends entered the gate that would lead them to where the gummi ship was.

The inside of the ship was pretty big. "Wow. I've never been inside a real ship before." Tyson breathed. It was amazing.

"I must admit, I'm impressed." Yami admitted.

Hovering in front of the ship was the world known as Traverse Town. Bryan could make out the Accessory shop that was the First District, a pond with two dogs kissing; he figured that to be the Third District and the Second District which was full of shops.

Wow.

Not too far apart in space where two metallic silver circles. Unknowingly, they were actually different worlds. Rei selected the level one world, knowing the others could easily handle this world without much difficulty. At least, he believed so.

Their adventure had just begun.

* * *

Alright, I'm pretty sure you can figure out where they're going to, right? Oh, and I'm nearing the completion of chapter fourteen. Hopefully it will be done soon. 


	4. Riddles in the Dark

A/N: Here's the revised Wonderland Chapter

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognize. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 3_**__

Rei was obviously a very good pilot as he guided the Gummi Ship with perfect ease through the interdimensional space. Lee stared at Rei as if he hadn't met him before. How was he supposed to know that Rei could fly ships twice the size of an airplane? Pretty soon, they arrived to their first world and first adventure.

The holographic image of the world was shown on the computer screen. Everyone, minus Rei, stared at it in awe. It looked to be a large pink ball with magenta and light pink hearts all over it, on top was a castle made of chess pieces with card soldiers marching and a giant green heart shape garden. Below was a cottage with a twisted tree over it. Rei grinned at their shocked expressions.

"You guys ready?" He asked lightly.

They nodded dumbly. "Then let's go!" He cheered. A black window appeared behind them, Rei quickly ran through, and the others exchanged looks before following him in.

"Yikes!" Tyson yelped as he realized they were slowly falling down a rabbit hole. All along the wall was a bunch of clocks. All of different kinds.

Rei, and the others, minus a certain dragon blader landed easily on their feet. Tyson landed right on his bum. "Ow!" He yelped. Lee chuckled.

"Oh, I'm late!" Cried a tiny voice. Bryan jerked back as a white rabbit in old fashioned clothes came running by. He was looking at a large gold pocket watch.

"I'm late!" He continued to cry out. "I'm late for a very important date! Oh, the Queen will have my head for sure!" The rabbit squealed, disappearing down the hall.

"Is it my imagination, or was that rabbit talking?" Ranma squeaked. Rei shook his head. "Welcome to Wonderland. Home of the bazaar." He muttered, heading down the hall way. "Wait for us Rei!" Lee called frantically, following. They stopped at a normal size arc shape door.

Rei stopped, realizing something. "Oh, I almost forgot." The Keyblade Master turned to Yami who blinked in confusion as Rei snapped his fingers.

Much to everyone's shock, red lightning cackled all around Yami's body. "What did you do?!" Ranma raged, lifting Rei up by his throat. Rei scowled. "Take it easy Ranma!" He snapped. "All I did was teach Yami the _Fire _spell. Now Yami can use the same magic as I can."

Ranma blinked and he released his grip on Rei. "Oh." Was all he said. "Now that, that's out of the way, we can continue." Rei pushed the door open, revealing a second door.

Suddenly, that door flew open followed by another, revealing a tiny green door. "There's no way we can fit. It's impossible." Max insisted. Rei smiled. "Nothing is impossible in Wonderland." He told them, pushing it open. Bright light flooded the area, and when they could see, they were standing in a very weird looking room.

In front of them was a white chair with a rabbit in the back round of it, a white table sat in front of the chair. On the table were two bottles, one was blue the other red. In the upper left corner of the room was a bed that was covering a large hole in the wall. Resting in front of the bed was an old fashioned grandfather clock.

Next to the clock was two wooden chairs with an arc shape table next to it. On that table was a single book. On the left side was a chimney with a large yellow pot next to it.

It was Bryan who saw the white rabbit; now tiny, going through the very small wooden door on the other side of the room. The doorknob was golden and if it was possible, it actually had a face on it!

He walked over to it and bent down. "How did that rabbit fit through?" He asked curiously. Rei peered over his shoulder and had to bite his lips to keep from laughing. As he knew what was about to happen next.

"Do you mind?" Asked a gruff voice. Ranma stared. "I-It talked!" He stammered. "What's with all this racket? How's a doorknob supposed to get any sleep?" Continued the gruff voice.

Beady black eyes glared at them from on the doorknob.

"Er, good day?" Tyson said lamely. The doorknob yawned. "Good night. I need a bit more sleep." It grumbled. "Wait!" Kevin cried. But it was too late, the doorknob had fallen back to sleep. "Hn. How are we suppose to follow that rabbit?" Kai asked.

Rei suddenly shoved the bed into the wall, revealing the black hole that could lead them to the White Rabbit.

"What are you doing?" Bryan asked dryly as Rei picked up the blue bottle. Rei shot him a look. "What else? I'm gonna follow the White Rabbit." He answered. Rei swallowed the contents and set the bottle back down. He grimaced from the sour after taste. "Well? Nothing's happening." Tyson whined. Glittering white smoke suddenly swirled around them, causing them to cough a bit. When it cleared, all of them were standing on the top of the table, no bigger than a thumb! "This is too weird." Max mumbled. "How do we get down from here?" Mariah asked fearfully, peering over the edge. Yami grinned as he took out a card from his deck holder. "Leave that to me." He said calmly. He raised the card over his head.

"I summon the Curse of Dragon!" He yelled. The card flashed a bright yellow before a huge skeleton of a dragon appeared.

Curse of Dragon

ATK/2000

DEF/1500

Rei whistled. "I'm impressed." He mused. Yami hopped onto the dragon's back and reached out his hand.

"Hop on." He said warmly. All of them, minus Rei, climbed on. Rei shook his head. "Not for me." He answered. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How are you to get down?" He asked.

Rei grinned. "Like this." He purred.

He curled his body into a ball and he actually _pushed_ his body into the air and landed with a liquid grace on the bottom of the floor, underneath the table. Yami had the Curse of Dragon land next to Rei and called him back. "How did-?" Tyson started. Rei smiled. "I have my ways." He teased. "Then let's keep going. Staying here gives me the creeps." Said Bryan. Rei snickered "And here I thought you Demolition Boys lived on the thrill of fear." He mocked. Bryan's pale face colored slightly. Laughing, they headed through the hole and into trouble.

They stepped out of the Bizarre Room and into a court? And running past them was that same White Rabbit. It ran past them and up to a stand high up next to the throne which they assumed was where the judge would sit.

"Here ye, here ye!" It called out. "This trial is now in session! Presenting her majesty! The Queen of Hearts!" Bryan snorted. That pudgy faced woman in the red gown was a queen?

Yeah right.

The Queen blinked her beady black eyes and glared at the so called culprit. Which was really a little blond haired girl in an old fashioned blue dress, decorated with white knee high socks and black mary-jane shoes.. She appeared to be an nineteenth century English girl.

"This trial is now in session!" The Queen growled. The girl's blue eyes grew wide.

"I'm on trial? But...but why?" The Queen's pudgy face twisted into a mask of hate. "This girl is the culprit," even her voice was harsh and cruel. "There's no doubt about it. And the reason is..." The group waited her for her words. "Because I say so, that's why!" The girl frowned.

"That's no reason!" The girl yelped. The group was silently agreeing with her.

The Queen frowned. "What do you have to say in your defense?" The girl crossed her arms. "Of course! I have done absolutely nothing wrong," she trilled.

"Just because you're queen. Doesn't give you the right to be so...so...so...mean!" The Queen's face turned red with rage. "SILENCE!" The Queen roared. The girl shivered. "You dare to defy me?!" "The court finds the defendant..guilty of all charges! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart," now that sounded very familiar.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!!"

That did it.

Tyson scowled. "That's it!" He growled and ran forward. "Tyson!" Rei hissed. "Hold it right there!" Tyson yelled, coming out of the shadows. Grumbling, Rei followed. As did the others. "What is the meaning of this?" The Queen demanded shrilly.

"That girl is innocent!" Tyson insisted. "We know who the real culprit is!" Lee added. "It was the Heart-" Bryan grunted as Rei slammed his elbow into his chest. Furious pale blueish white eyes glared into slightly pained lilac ones.

"We're not supposed to interfere with other world affairs." Rei snarled. "What if we can find evidence that proves the girl is innocent. Would you let her go?" Yami tried, his rich voice was soothing and soon he had the Queen of Hearts wrapped around his fingers.

The Queen blinked. "Alright. If you can find evidence of Alice's innocence, bring them here. Fail, and it will be all of your heads! Report back here once you are finished." Rei sighed in irritation.

They gathered into a group. "How can we find any evidence?" Lee whispered. Rei pointed to a door that was being guarded by a card soldier. The door was giving off a weird dark vibe. "Through the Lotus forest. And thanks a lot Tyson!" Rei growled, glaring at the dragon blader who only blinked as they traveled through the door. As they did, a bunch of card soldiers threw the girl into a golden cage next to the Queen.

"What did I do?" Tyson asked, not even paying attention to his surroundings. Rei whirled around, his eerie bluish white eyes slitted with rage, resembling a very angry tiger. Ranma edged away from the furious teen uneasily.

"Tyson, there are rules we must follow. We cannot allow anyone to know we are here. All we are to do is lock the world and leave. That's it. Now thanks to you, there's gonna be trouble following us!"

Tyson looked down in guilt. Mariah squeaked in fear as a purple and pink stripped cat appeared out of nowhere and was curled up on a large tree trunk, which was to their right. "Who are you?" Yami demanded, eyeing the magical cat warily. Yes, magical. He could sense magic coursing through it.

"Who indeed?" The cat purred. "Poor Alice. Soon to loose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing." Rei remained silent. "Hey, if you know who the real culprit is, tell us!" Tyson ordered.

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers - - but doesn't always tell. The answer is, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness." Rei rolled his eyes. /Stupid riddles./ He grumbled. Driger chuckled.

Suddenly, the cat vanished. "Wait!" Ranma cried. "They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all." Came the Cat's final call. "Should we trust him?" Yami asked suspiciously. _"To trust, or not to trust? I'll trust you'll decide!"_ And the Cat's voice faded over the light wind.

"What did he mean that three are a cinch to find but the forth is tricky?" Gary wondered. Rei sighed.

"I know where all four are. Just leave them to me. And I'll be back shortly." He said curtly. He promptly faded from their sight. Tyson shuddered. "I'm never getting use to that trick of his." He mumbled. Ranma and Yami exchanged looks. "What can you guys tell us about him?" Yami questioned.

Lee sighed. "Rei showed up at our village ten years ago during a freaky meteor shower. Since he had no family, my grandfather adopted him into our village. He's been living there ever since. That is, until about a month before the Asian Tournament."

Tyson's eyes widen.

"That was when he left your village and came to Japan to join the Bladebreakers." Lee gave a rueful smile.

"I'm still not sure what Mr. Dickenson said to Rei to convince him to leave." Bryan was quiet before he spoke. "Then you didn't know he had a reputation before joining the Bladebreakers, did you?" He asked slowly. Lee and Tyson shook their heads. The Bladebreakers and White Tigers were curious, for they never heard about this from their neko-jin friend.

"Just before joining you, it was rumored that the one with the tiger was the fiercest of all beybladers and everyone was afraid to challenge him. Fearing they would loose their beyblades." They stared. Bryan shrugged.

"Voltaire and Boris were impressed with Rei's actions. And if this hadn't happen, Rei would probably be a prisoner of the Abbey." Lee scowled. "Well, that's never gonna happen."

"What's never gonna happen?" Asked a voice. They yelped and jumped back as a winded Rei reappeared. "Don't do that!"Mariah scolded. Rei grew pink. "Sorry." He mumbled. There was some shiny red patches of skin marking his arms and his chest held a few scratches. "What happened?" Lee asked worriedly.

Rei waved off his friend's concern. "Not worry. Just some Red Nocturne's and Shadows." At their inquiring looks, he hastily explained.

"Red Nocturne's are fire elemental Heartless. Only ice attacks weaken them." He explained before using an Elixir. The liquid not only healed his injuries, but it also fixed the rips in his clothes that were made by the Shadows. He grinned. "Not bad." He mused.

"Did you get the evidence?" Kai asked gently. Rei nodded. "Yep, and one more thing. Time for you to learn the _Blizzard_ spell Yami." Yami bit his lip as ice blue lightning cackled around him. "There, that can do well against fire type Heartless." Yami smiled. At least he could prove a bit useful now.

Rei went up to a Heart Soldier. "Are you ready to present your evidence?" It asked gruffly. Rei nodded slightly as he, Ranma and Yami stood in the place where Alice had been standing. "Present your evidence." The Queen snapped.

Four pale pink boxes were placed in front of the pudgy woman. The boxes were covered in dark red and light pink hearts.

"That is a lot of evidence." She admitted bitterly. "However, guards!" She yelled, waving her red heart shape fan. "Bring forth **my** evidence." Another heart soldier came forward and dropped a _fifth_ box.

Suddenly, all five boxes were scattered. So no one could tell which was which. "There. Pick one and we'll decide who is the culprit." Rei's eyes narrowed. "After all that trouble?!" He growled.

"Which one Rei?" Ranma whispered. Rei closed his eyes and he relaxed his body. Slowly, his right hand lifted up and he pointed to the third box. "That one." He said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Asked a soldier. "Yes." Rei mumbled. The box top flew open and a Soldier Heartless appeared in its place. Snarling, it lunged for the Queen's chest. It exploded into dust. Ranma gaped as smoke rose from Rei's outstretched hand.

"Wh-What was that?!" She demanded shrilly. "That would be a Soldier Heartless. Alice is innocent." Rei said coldly. The Queen spluttered with rage. "Silence!" She roared. "I'm the law around here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!" Rei started to back up. Not good.

"CARDS! SEIZE THEM!"

The cage, containing Alice was lifted into the air and turned away from them, the garden hedges dove into the ground and a crank tower rose behind them. A Spade soldier ran up to it and began to turn the crank. Rei scowled. "We have to take out that tower to free Alice!" He hissed. "How do you know?" Bryan hissed back. Rei glared at him. "Just trust me!" He snapped.

_ I'm getting rid of that tower with one blow!_ Rei thought holding Ultima over his head. He grinned at the card soldier's confused expressions.

"See ya." He teased and pointed the Keyblade at the tower.

"FORCE!" Rei roared out.

A huge ball of pure darkness crushed the tower to the ground, causing the structure to collapse on itself. Everyone just stared in awe. Not even dust remained. Rei blushed and placed a hand on his neck, laughing nervously.

"Heh, guess I should've tone down the Graviga spell, huh?" He asked sheepishly. "You think?" Ranma asked sarcastically.

**CRASH**

Rei winced. For the golden cage containing Alice had just slammed down on the ground, the second the tower had crumbled. Slowly, the cage turned around revealing...nothing?! "She's gone!" Lee said in shock. Rei cursed under his breath. _Some Shadows must've grabbed her during that fight._ He thought in anger.

"Guards!" The Queen yelled. "Find her!" The cards scrambled, searching high and low for the poor girl. "Come on, there's nothing else we can do here." Rei said quietly. Tyson glared at his older friend.

"How can you say that Rei? Alice needs our help!" Rei whirled around, for a second his eyes took on a dangerous ruby red hue. But it was gone before anyone could blink. "Alice is no longer on this world Tyson. She's probably in one of the outer worlds." He growled. "Now, let's go." He ordered curtly.

They passed through the hole to enter the Bizarre room. The group, minus Rei, noted that the teddy bear; which had been sitting on a shelf, was sitting on a chair, there was a plant, the pot was filled to the tip with water, there was a picture hanging on the wall, and lamps were lit up. Soft warm light filled the room. Not to mention the fact that the clock was now embedded into the wall.

Rei jumped from the ground, to the giant white chair to the table. Yami had to summon the Curse of Dragon again in order to catch up to the Keymaster. "You would believe that Alice is not here, yes?" Rei whirled around to see the Cheshire Cat standing there with a huge grin on his face.

"Do you know where Alice is?" Mariah asked worriedly. "Are you prepared for the worst?" He teased. Lee frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. "If not, too bad!" The Cheshire Cat faded from their sight.

Uneasiness filled them. "Why don't I like the sounds of this?" Tyson whimpered. Rei looked up.

"Um, we might have a problem."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

Rei pointed upward.

"HIM!"

They looked up to see a gigantic being that had a black and red head, one piled on top of the other, a very thin body, thin legs and arms. But it was juggling some sticks.

"That's the Trickmaster." He whispered.

"Don't use any fire attacks on him."

Ranma frowned. "Why not?" Rei sighed, eyeing the huge Heartless warily. "Because it will send those juggling sticks of his ablaze."

"Leave this one to me Rei." Yami said calmly, drawing forth two cards. "I summon the Dark Magician!"

There was a warm flash of golden light as the new summon appeared. It looked like a tall man with long dark purple hair, and cold blue eyes. He wore purple armor over his arms, and legs, and a silk robe over the armor. Being gripped in his hand was a tall dark green staff with a large emerald on top of it.

Dark Magician

ATK/2500

DEF/2100

"Next, I combine him with the Book of Secret Arts!" His second card had a green back round, but the picture was that of a very old book. The Dark Magician was bathed in a dark purple light and Rei could actually feel the Dark Magician's power rise slightly.

Dark Magician

ATK/2800

DEF/2400

Rei let out a soft whistle. "Woah. Very cool. Your summon should be able to take out Trickmaster with one blast." Rei said quietly, his Scan in effect. Yami nodded.

"Alright Dark Magician," He began. "Attack with Dark Magic Attack!" The monster nodded and with a flick of his staff, sent out a massive wave of darkness, which sliced the Trickmaster in half. Rei knew his eyes were bugged out, despite them being behind the visor.

"Wow. You wiped him out with one blow." He said in awe. Yami's cheeks took on a rosy red hue. "Thanks." He said, embarrassed. Yami then called back his monster and replaced him back into his deck.

"What a racket," Grumbled a tired voice. Startled, they turned to see they had woken up the doorknob. It was glaring at them tiredly.

"How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" The doorknob yawned again, and much to their amazement, the Keyblade lifted on its own, and sent out a thin beam of blue energy into the keyhole of the doorknob. Tiny golden stars twirled around the tip until the light faded.

"What just happened?" Bryan asked slowly.

"That was the Keyblade locking this world. The Heartless won't threaten it any longer." Rei explained. "Oh." Was all they said. Suddenly, a tiny red object dropped out.

"A Gummi!" Rei exclaimed.

"I guess the next world then?" Lee asked. Rei nodded. "Hope ya guys are ready for a battle." Rei teased.

Next stop:

Olympus Coliseum.

_Familiar villains were watching Rei and his friends. "So the brat has picked up two more." Grumbled a thick British voice. "So it would seem." Purred an evil female voice. "He's stopping on your turf next Hades. This time, don't fail." The voice hissed. _

_Hades, Lord of the Underworld, smirked and brushed back his flaming blue hair. "Don't worry. The brat won't know what hit him."_

* * *

Seems the Generals have a major plan for our heros. Wonder what it could be? 


	5. Olympus Coliseum

A/N: Here you go people. Revised Chapter 4 is up

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

**_Chapter 4_**__

It didn't even take five minutes to get to their next world, and adventure. "It looks like the Roman Coliseum." Mariah mused, glancing at the holographic image. "Then let's get down there and have some fun!" Tyson said eagerly. Rei smiled at the younger boy's eagerness. It was quiet amusing to watch.

They walked out into a huge courtyard with large stone pillars surrounding the door to the main lobby. A huge golden statue of a warrior holding a shield and spear was placed on each side of the door.

"I guess the entrance is through there."

Ranma pointed at the door that stood between the statues and pillars. Rei nodded. "Yes. And that's where the games are held." He explained as he pushed the door open and they headed inside.

Inside it was a bit smaller than the courtyard outside. To the left was a stone table and on the ledge was a golden bowl with a fire burning in it. And to the right was a large stone with another golden bowl with fire burning in it on the ledge.

There was a large entrance in the wall ahead of them that was closed off with chains. Standing on a stone stand was what appeared to be a half man-half goat like creature putting up a sign. It was actually a satyr.

"Um, excuse me?" Max asked politely.

The satyr merely waved a tiny hand.

"Finally! Can you move that stone over there? I'm busy here."

The satyr had a very gruff voice. Ranma chose to try and move it, only to discover it was extremely heavy.

"It's too heavy." He complained.

"That thing is way too heavy." He told the satyr.

The satyr jumped. "Too heavy? Since when have you been- - " He turned to see ten different looking teenagers standing there. "Oh, wrong guy."

Rei frowned slightly. He never did like the satyr's attitude towards people. "You guys can't be heros if you can't even move this rock" Bryan smirked when the satyr struggled to move the stone, but to no avail. "Plus warriors from all over come to participate in the games and you can't join!" This angered the group.

"What?!" Tyson screeched.

"Why not?!" Ranma asked angrily.

"Three words: You guys ain't heros!" The satyr snarled. "That's four words." Lee said dryly. Yami scowled. "Rei is a real hero." He said coldly. Realization dawned on Ranma.

"That's right. Rei is the one who wields that Keyblade thingy." Placing his hands on Rei's shoulder, the Keymaster summoned the gleaming weapon to his hand, causing the satyr to jump back in fear.

"Impressive. I'll admit. But the rest of you won't be able to join unless you pass this test." With that being said, the others, minus Rei, went through the gapping hole in the wall.

Rei leaned causally against a wall, eyes closed. The satyr; who introduced himself as Phil, watched the Keyblade master warily. Rei was lost in his own memories of his friends.

And of Destiny Islands....

___Pale bluish white eyes sparkled brightly upon the cherubic face as the fourteen year old boy brushed a lock of dark cinnamon hair from his eyes. Ah, life on Destiny Islands was wonderful. _

_{"Oh Sora...."} Called an eerie voice._

_Sora perked up, hearing his name. Who was calling him? "Yes? Riku, is that you?" He called, worriedly._

_{"Over here Sora."} Came the voice again. Sora got up, brushed the sand from his bright red jumpsuit and took off in the direction of the voice. He climbed over the ladder that lead up to the upper part of the island and to the waterfalls. Sora looked around and his strange eyes lingered on a large pearly white door, standing right where the hidden entrance was._

What was that door doing there?

_Suddenly, the door slammed open and pure black flames circled around the horrified teen. "What's going on?" He whimpered. Above him, the skies grew black as night and the island shook as huge cracks appeared all over and the jungle seemed to split in half as the ocean bleed an ominous purple. _

_A pair of red eyes glowed from the darkness behind the now open doors where only darkness could be seen and Sora heard a cackling laugh before he felt an overwhelming coolness in his chest. Dumbfounded, he looked down and his eyes widen. Jammed through his chest; right where his heart was, was a black arm. And surrounding the black arm was dark purplish black mist. _

_With a jerk, the hand pulled out a crystallized ruby red heart. With a gleeful laugh, the one who was holding the crystal heart, shattered it to a thousand pieces. Sora cried out in pain, clutching his chest, and with watery eyes, he watched in horror as his own body began to turn black itself. He looked up into the red eyes and heard one last sentence as everything faded for the final time:_

_{"Welcome home, Sora. Welcome home."} _

It was Bryan who noted the sleeping Rei as they came back from Phil's barrel-smashing challenge. In return, Phil handed over the knowledge of the **Thunder** spell to Yami who was quiet pleased with it. But Phil still refusedto let them in.

"How are we gonna wake him up?" Ranma whispered, as he spotted Rei sleeping against the wall. "Whatever we do, we better do something fast. It looks like he is having a nightmare of some sort." Yami pointed out.

Lee realized that the tri-colored haired teen was right. Rei was shivering slightly and if it was possible, he was sweating at the same time. "Rei?" Tyson asked worriedly, gently touching the teen's shoulder.

Instantly, eerie bluish white eyes flew open and had Tyson's hand in a death grip. Rei blinked as he finally calmed down, realizing he had Tyson's hand in a hard grip. He hastily let go.

"Sorry. Try not to do that again Tyson." He mumbled, not looking at the dragon blader. "We might as well leave since that jerk won't let us into the games." Mariah said angrily, storming out into the courtyard. Rei sighed and reluctantly followed. His mind still on that eerie dream.

Unknowingly, a pair of yellowish black eyes was watching the group as they left and smirked. _Now's my chance,_ the person thought greedily and headed out after them.

"Stubborn old goat wouldn't you say?" Teased a raspy voice. Rei stiffened. _It can't be,_ he thought darkly. The others whirled around, not even noticing Rei's obvious anger. Out of the shadows stepped what looked to be a man.

That is if you would ignore the blue skin and bright blue flames for hair. The man wore a dark greyish black Greek toga.

"Who are you?" Ranma growled.

His danger sense kept telling him this guy was bad news. The man held up a hand. "Take it easy short stuff. I'm on your side." The man mocked. Rei's lips curled into a snarl and he felt a tremendous amount of rage boil inside of him.

And an urge for blood.

The blood of the man in front of them.

"Can't get in, can you?" Mariah nodded. "That jerk won't let us in even though we won his barrel challenge." She grumbled. "Well, I believe you'll want this." In a flash of pale blue light, the man was holding a ticket in his hand and gave it to a stunned Mariah.

"A pass?" She questioned.

"Good luck kids. I'm rooting for ya." And disappeared back into the shadows.

Slowly, the rage and the bloodlust died down. Rei took in a deep breath. "That was Hades. I wouldn't trust him at all." He growled, there was still a hint of hatred in his voice. Giving Rei weird looks, the others shrugged and raced back inside to show Phil the Entry Pass to get into the games.

Back inside, Mariah took out the Entry Pass and showed it to a very shocked satyr. "How did you get this?!" He demanded hotly. The pink haired girl glared at the hybrid. "Well? Are we aloud in or what?" She snapped.

"Fine. But remember this one rule: No summoning allowed! Fight with your own strength!" He snapped back. Rei sighed. "Then that means that Ranma, Yami and I will fight." He said quietly.

Huh?

"Say what?" Tyson grumbled. "When Phil said no summoning, that also went towards the bit beasts. And since you guys have to rely on them to fight, the three of us have our own skills to use against the Heartless." Kai frowned.

"What about Yami? He uses monsters to summon too." He pointed out. Rei chuckled. "Yes, but if you had been paying attention, Yami can also use elemental magic as well as myself." He answered.

"Oh"

"Are you people ready?" Phil asked gruffly. Rei nodded. "It'll be us three Phil." He gestured towards Ranma and Yami. The satyr nodded in agreement. "Alright. And good luck. You'll be needing it." Phil called as they went through the door way.

"Thanks." Ranma muttered sarcastically.

Round One: Soldiers , Blue Rhapsodies

The second the trio had stepped into the arena, a pinkish green light lit up around the four corners, showing signs of a shield and no way of escaping.

"Leave the Nocturne's and Rhapsodies to me." Rei muttered to them. They nodded. Standing in front of them was four Soldiers and four Blue Rhapsodies. Rei got into position. Ranma was holding his new shield and Yami his new staff. Time to kick some major ass.

"FIRAGA!" Rei roared as he leapt of the Soldiers, sending out a massive blast of fire towards the Rhapsodies. Unfortunately, it only got two of them. So he was left with two ice elemental Heartless.

Ranma slammed his shield into a Soldier, causing the thing to screech in pain before exploding. Yami jammed the bottom tip of the staff into another Soldier, also causing it to explode into dust. Rei wove in an out of the icicles that were being sent his way.

"Defense!" He cried, casting his Aeroga spell.

He relaxed by a hair as the icicles bounced off and slammed into the Rhapsodies. The two ice Heartless weren't expecting it, so they ended up following their brethren and exploded into dust as Ranma and Yami took out the remaining Soldiers.

"Alright!" Rei cheered, twirling Ultima in his hand.

Round Two: Shadows, Blue Rhapsodies

This time, Shadows appeared instead of Soldiers. The same amount of Blue Rhapsodies appeared though. The two made a move to go forward, but Rei stopped them. They glanced at him curiously but Yami realized what Rei was about to do and grinned.

A golden aura sprang up around Rei as he became a blur, slashing through and ripping the Heartless apart. "Take that!" Rei growled, rasing the Keyblade up slightly, golden lightning cackling everywhere. Ranma stared and sighed.

"Shouldn't be surprised." He muttered.

Rei laughed softly. Ranma smiled. He liked the way Rei laughed. It was soft and husky. "You should laugh more." He said absent mindly. Rei turned pink. Yami smiled. "You should Rei." He told the boy who turned even redder.

If that was possible.

Round Three: Blue Rhapsodies, Red Nocturnes

This would be a bit tricky. "I got an idea." Rei mumbled. "What is it?" Yami asked. Rei looked up. "Hope you two aren't afraid of thunder." He muttered. Ranma and Yami back up a bit into the shield as Rei slammed the keyblade into the arena floor.

"THUNDAGA!"

Huge bolts of golden thunder shot from the skies and each bolt hit a Heartless, causing each one to shriek with pain before exploding and their pure hearts disappearing. When the thunder passed, Rei dropped to his knees in exhaustion.

"You okay?" Ranma asked worriedly.

Rei waved him off.

"Don't worry. Just used up a bit too much magic." He muttered. He pulled out a vial of tiny neon green liquid. "It's an Ether." He explained and swallowed the contents, gagging a bit on the taste. It was never the same twice. "Much better." He stood up and stretched. "That was three rounds. How many more do we have to go?" Ranma asked. "Four more." Rei grumbled. "Just great." Yami muttered sarcastically.

Round Four: Blue Rhapsodies, Red Nocturnes, Shadows, Soldiers

"This is gonna be a bit harder." Ranma mumbled, looking at the array of Heartless. "I have a magic card that could help." Yami said suddenly. Rei perked up. "Really? Then I suggest you better use it." He glanced towards the Heartless uneasily. "**Now**." He ordered. Yami hastily agreed and took out another green card. Only this time, this one had a black hole imprinted upon it.

"Dark Hole!" Yami yelled.

A black hole appeared over the field, sucking in each Heartless. The wind picked up, making their hair fly all around them. When the wind died down, the Heartless were gone. "Cool trick." Rei whistled. Yami blushed. "Three more rounds." Came from Ranma. "I know."

Round Five: Blue Rhapsodies

Rei grinned nastily as the ice Heartless hovered in the air. "Piece of cake." He purred. He pointed the Keyblade at the Heartless and said one word.

"Firaga."

They were instantly destroyed. "Pathetic." Rei grumbled, lowering the Keyblade. "I hate to say this, but this is getting a bit predictable." Yami muttered as Rei drowned another Ether.

They were being watched by two people. One was Hades, the other was a cold and silent man. "There, that's the brat you have to kill." Hades growled, pointing to Rei, who was talking to Ranma, Yami and Phil.

The silent man finally spoke. "The god of death is afraid of a kid?" The man said quietly. "My contract clearly says- -" Hades cut him off. Sheesh, second time around was boring as hell. No pun intended of course. "I know what it says! You don't think I know? I wrote the damn thing!" He snarled. "I know your contract says your supposed to kill Hercules. But to get to Hercules, you have to go through that brat."

The man casually glanced towards Rei once more. "It's just like the old goat said. Rule number fourteen: Let loose and have fun! So go out there and win!" Hades hissed.

The man got up and silently left. "Jeeze. He's still stiffer than the stiffs back home." A low animalistic growl came from the shadows as a pair of large red eyes glowed dimly. "There was one more thing I forgot." He mused and chuckled darkly as he disappeared.

The man walked by Rei, Ranma and Yami. Rei's eyes were narrowed as he watched the warrior walk past.

"He's gonna be a tough one to beat." Phil mused. "I'll say." Ranma said quietly, he could feel the man's power. It was huge. But not even close to Rei's strength. Ranma had a feeling that not many could take on Rei and win.

Was Rei hiding his real power?

And if so....

Why?

Round Six: Large Body, Blue Rhapsodies, Red Nocturnes, Soldiers

The Large Body was well, a very tall, _fat_ Heartless, dressed similarly to the Soldier only in dark red armor instead of blue.

"The Large Body only weakness is physical attacks. But you have to aim them at the back of their heads." Rei explained as he whipped out the Blue Rhapsodies with a _Firaga_ spell and the Red Nocturnes with a _Blizzaga_ spell. The lone Soldier crept up behind Rei, hoping to catch him off guard.

No such luck.

Rei knew that the Soldier was behind him, he whirled around and caught the Heartless on the tip of his Keyblade. It exploded into dust and vanished.

"Gotcha." Rei teased.

"At least we only have one more." Ranma panted, beads of sweat trickled down his face. "Here." Rei tossed them both a Potion. Yami and Ranma were glad that the liquid restored their energy so they could handle the final round.

But what or _who_ could it be?

Round Seven: Cloud

Standing before Rei, Ranma and Yami was a young man in his early twenties with spiky dark blond hair framing a slightly round face.

You could just make out a pair of dark blue eyes watching them emotionlessly. The man wore a skin tight sleeveless black tee-shirt, dark blue jeans and brown ankle high leather boots. Black leather belts forming an "x" were wrapped around both of his ankles, there was another leather belt; only this one was brown, was strapped over his chest, and another around his waist. He also had metal protecting his left leg and right shoulder. There was even metal surrounding his right wrists. He also wore brown leather gloves and had gold metal covering his right fingers. All in all, his flowing dark red cap; which covered his mouth, and his single black wing protruding from his right shoulder gave the man a demonic look.

So who was he?

* * *

Revised Chapter 5 is coming up soon. I planned on giving you guys **_4_**__ revised chapters today. 


	6. Cloud and Cerberus

A/N: Here is the next revised chapter. Hope it's good

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 5_**__

Ranma grimaced. "This guy is defiantly powerful. I can feel his ki all the way over here." Yami was worried. He recalled the stories Ranma told him before all this happened. About the ten year training trip to make him the best there was. Rei frowned. "Watch out for that sword of his. He knows how to use it very well." He said quietly. Yami swallowed thickly.

"I have a feeling you are correct Rei." He said uneasily. "Wind!" Rei called softly three times. The barrier of mist quickly flew up all around the trio. Hopefully it would help them. "Take this!" The man yelled, jumping high into the air. Rei's eyes widen.

Oh boy.

Rei dove for the ground and barely rolled out of the way as Cloud slammed his broad sword into the ground. Right where Rei had been seconds before. The area around the sword had flashed an eerie dark purple but it quickly faded and Cloud whirled around.

"Why are you doing this Cloud?!" Rei demanded, deflecting the next attack by bringing up Ultima. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the air.

The silent warrior was slightly surprised that Rei knew his name, but it quickly faded. "Sorry kid. Orders are orders." Ranma frowned as he heard this. Obviously Rei knew this man. But how?

"FIRAGA!" Rei yelled.

A huge blast of flames sent Cloud flying. The blond hissed in pain from the high level spell. Growling, he ignored the third degree burns that were forming on his skin and lashed out blindly this time in pure rage. _Sorry Cloud but you leave me with no choice._ Rei thought sadly. Yami managed to deflect another attack by Cloud's with a trap card he called "Mirror Force."

"Let's go!" Rei yelled, a bright red light surrounding him and his Keyblade. Ranma and Yami leapt back to avoid the powered up attack as Rei became a red and gold blur, zipping all around Cloud. Then he reappeared behind Cloud, his Keyblade, held out slightly. For a second, nothing happened.

But then, Ranma and Yami gasped as Cloud's eyes grew wide with pain before he slumped to the ground in a dead faint. Rei was bent over one knee, breathing heavily. "I hated to do that to him, but he had left me with no choice." He said sadly. With that said, Rei doused another Elixir and was fine in a matter of seconds. "You did it!" Cheered Lee.

They turned to see the Beybladers running towards them. Phil was very impressed with their actions. "Not bad kid. You just may have what it takes to be a hero." He mused.

A sudden coldness washed over Rei and he shivered. "What's wrong Rei?" Tyson questioned worriedly. Rei was looking around frantically. "Something is wrong. Can't you guys feel that?" Bryan frowned.

"Feel what?" He asked a bit rudely.

"So dark. It feels like..." Rei trailed off as he recognized the power behind the coldness.

Uh oh.

The ground shook and Rei whirled around and backed up in horror. Ranma was confused but then he looked down to see a very **huge** shadow looming over the group. Everyone could feel hot breath on their necks, making all nine shiver in fear. They slowly turned and looked up.

And up.

Standing over them was a very huge three headed black dog with glowing red eyes, nasty looking fangs, and actual black smoke was coming from its nostrils. Rei swallowed hard.

"Th-that's Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld." He said thickly. They were backing up slowly until a golden brown blur went in front of them. The blur revealed to be a very muscular young man somewhere in his twenties with curly auburn hair and warm blue eyes. He was dressed in chestnut armor, showing he was a gladiator.

He had rushed in, grabbed Cloud and lifted the still unconscious man onto his shoulder, and held up his free hand, trying to keep the demonic beast's attention on him. "Get those kids outta here Phil!" The man yelled. Phil hastily agreed and urged the others to follow him back into the main lobby

Inside, one could tell that Phil was very worried. "Who was that guy?" Kevin wondered out loud. "That was Hercules. I'm just wondering what the hell Cerberus was doing here?!" Phil growled. Then he sighed heavily. "Still. I know Herc could take him on." He said quietly.

"I hope."

Rei clenched his fists tightly. "Hercules won't be able to fend off Cerberus with Cloud being injured. I'm going to help him." He vowed.

Say WHAT?!

Lee grabbed Rei's right arm rather tightly. "Are you insane? You can't go back out there!" He screeched. Rei glared at his friend. "And why not? If I don't, then Hades will win and we'd be in big trouble." He snapped.

Rei nearly jumped out of his skin as a gentle hand was placed on his shaking shoulder. He looked up curiously into a grinning Ranma. "You're not doing this alone Rei. We're gonna help." Yami nodded in agreement. Rei smiled. "Thank you." He whispered. Phil gave a wary smile. "Kid I got two words for ya: Go get him!!" Rei, Ranma, and Yami nodded and ran through the door, and back out into the arena where trouble would greet them.

Hercules grunted as he shifted the dead weight on his shoulders and glared up into Cerberus' six red eyes. He sweated heavily. He was in big trouble.

"We're here to help Hercules!" Hercules made out the battle stances of Rei, Ranma and Yami. Hercules reluctantly left them behind so he could get Cloud to safety and vanished into the main lobby.

The black Scan visor flashed over Rei's eyes as he locked onto one of Cerberus' outside heads. "This is gonna be hard you guys. Cerberus' has two major attacks: first of all, avoid being in the line of attack with the middle head or you'll take major damage. Second is when he leans down, he sends out a huge amount of dark magic into the air." He explained grimly as he cast the Aeroga spell.

Suddenly, all three heads opened their mouths and huge fireballs, about the size of mini vans flew out and sped in their direction!

"Look out!" Rei screamed. The trio quickly separated and the fireballs crashed into the stone wall behind them. Luckily, they were unharmed.

"That was a little too close." Ranma breathed.

"THUNDAGA!" Rei yelled.

Black storm clouds gathered overhead, surprising the two as they continued to dodge Cerberus' bites and fireballs. Huge bolts of golden thunder rained down on the arena. Most hitting the three headed dog. Cerberus roared in pain.

Now, instead of attacking Ranma and Yami, it focused all of its rage on Rei. Rei grinned. This was just what he wanted. He just prayed his plan would work and eliminate Cerberus in one shot. But, it would be worth it.

A pale blue aura flared around Rei as he hurled the Keyblade at Cerberus' right head. The razor sharp blade sliced deep into the demonic dog's head causing it to whimper in pain. Now, as Rei caught the Keyblade, he brought the powerful weapon down in an arc. Ranma and Yami stared in awe as bright blue energy washed over it, and lit up the entire arena and skies. The two had to shield their eyes to avoid going blind.

When they could see again, Cerberus was gone and Rei was bent over one knee, wheezing. All that magic, it was no wonder he was so tired.

"Y-you did it Rei." Ranma said in shock.

"Tired." Rei mumbled, before collapsing in a dead faint. Yami managed to catch him. The tri colored haired teen glanced down at the peaceful face of the sleeping Keyblade master and smiled.

"It's strange." He mused quietly.

Ranma glanced at him in confusion. "What are ya talking about?" He asked tiredly. Yami met Ranma's curious gaze and chuckled softly. "It's just when this first started I didn't know what to make of him, but now..." He shook his head in a daze. Ranma was thoughtful.

"I know what you mean. I thought Rei was a bit arrogant with that Keyblade of his. But he has a good heart and he is a good friend." Ranma admitted. Yami smiled. "That he is." He agreed. Ranma then got an idea. "Didn't he say that his friends; Donald and Goofy, lost their hearts?" Yami slowly nodded, remembering when Rei told Kairi the bitter news. "Well, I know we can't replace them, but what if we can find a way to bring up the good memories of them."

Yami nodded.

"That would probably make him happy." He then smiled.

"Why not?"

He looked up into the setting sun. "We should head back." He told Ranma who agreed. Ranma then lifted the sleeping Rei onto his back. And with a smile, carried Rei piggyback style back to the main lobby where their friends were waiting anxiously for them.

Tyson looked at the darken doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. "I hope their okay." He said worriedly. "They're strong warriors." Lee said quietly. "We must have faith in them." That still didn't calm any of them down. Not too long ago, Cloud had woken up and was sitting back out on the main gates to the Gummi ship.

Mariah's sharp eyes grew wide as she made out vaguely human shapes in the doorway. "Hey, I think that's them!" She cried in excitement. Yami and Ranma came out, a bit worn and burned, but alright. Ranma was carrying a sleeping Rei on his back.

"Is he okay?" Max asked quickly, seeing Rei's state. Yami gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. He's just sleeping. For he used up all of his energy in facing Cerberus." He told the worried blond.

Hercules nudged Phil gently. "Come on Phil." He said sternly. "Alright." Phil grumbled darkly and read out from a piece of parchment. "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heros." He said gruffly. That was when a similar parchment floated into a very surprised satyr's hands. He glanced down. It was a junior hero licence.

Er- - sort of.

The licence was upgraded to a full hero licence right before his very beady black eyes. Very weird. "You can also compete in any of the games. Unfortunately due to that last battle, there won't be any until I repair the stadium. Until then, your out of luck."

Lee nodded slowly. "Well, we'll be going now." He said quietly. That was when Hercules spoke. "Don't take it too personally. You'll have to find out the hard way what it's like to be a real hero. Just like I did. Anyway, good luck on your journey." Ranma gave a tired smile.

"Thanks. Although it'll be awhile until Rei wakes up as only he can operate the Gummi ship." Ranma answered and the group left the two behind. The second they passed the doors, Phil spoke up.

"I still can't believe those little squirts actually beat Cerberus!" Hercules smiled and leaned down. "Just between the two of us, I had already worn Cerberus down before they showed up." Phil snickered.

The gang made their way to the Gates and froze. For someone was blocking their way. Ranma and Yami scowled. "What do you want Cloud?" Ranma growled. "I'm sorry." Came the soft answer. This shocked them. Wha - - ?

"Why were you helping Hades?" Yami asked gently. Cloud sighed. "I had lost my light. And Hades promised to help me find it." Ranma glanced back at the sleeping Rei and was thoughtful. "Rei lost his light yesterday. And we're helping him search." Cloud was surprised as he looked at the sleeping teen that was being held gently on Ranma's back. He tossed something to Yami who easily caught it.

Inside was a tiny silver star. "When he wakes, please give it to him and tell him not to loose sight of it." And Cloud vanished behind them. Ranma was surprised. "Maybe he's not as bad as I thought." He mused. Now all they could do was wait for Rei to wake.

Hm. Maybe they should rest as well.

_Rei looked around in confusion. Wasn't he just in the Coliseum, fighting Cerberus? Where was he anyway? His eyes widen as he recognized the lilies and roses around him. He was in that garden from an earlier dream he had. The one his real mother had been in._

_He walked forward and past Weeping Willows and saw the woman from before, curled up underneath a Willow, cradling a bundle in her arms. And Rei knew it had to be him. He smiled. She looked so happy. But..._

_What was she mumbling about?_

_He leaned in and struggled to hear her words. **{"Oh, my little one. How I wished none of this darkness occurred."}** She sighed wistfully, and a tiny hand reached out and grabbed her finger, cooing softly._

**_BOOM_**__

_The Queen had looked up sharply, cradling her baby close to her breast and her eyes widen as she saw smoke in the distance. That only meant one thing:_

_The Heartless were here._

**_{"Hello your highness..."}_**_ Hissed a very familiar voice. Rei whirled around and gaped as he recognized the shady form of Ansem. But, what was he doing here?! The man reached a shadowy hand out to the Queen._

**_{"Give me the boy, and I might spare your life wench."}_**_ Ansem snapped. The Queen's eyes flashed dangerously. **{"Never!"}** She cried. She looked around frantically. **{"Where is my husband?!"}** She demanded. Ansem snickered. **{"Oh, you mean...him?"}** Ansem stepped back and the Queen burst out in a wail as a dancing Shadow Heartless stood there. Rei froze. _

_Ansem had known who he was all along._

_Everything was being covered in eternal darkness. With his heighten hearing, Rei could make out Ansem's voice saying:_

**_{"Ha, ha, ha!! You've failed in your mission Keymaster! I have won!"}_**

**_Darkness rules over all...._**__

Rei's eerie eyes flew open as he sat up in a rush. Beads of sweat trickled down his face. "Rei?" Came a worried voice. The Keyblade master looked up frantically and met the worried eyes of Bryan. "Are you alright?" The Demolition Boy asked softly. "I'm fine." Rei mumbled.

"Just a bad dream." Bryan knew there was more to this, but he chose to let it go.

For now.

About ten minutes after Rei had woken up; freaked out, the others slowly woke up as well. Rei couldn't let them know about his dream. Or was it a nightmare? He didn't know and didn't even want to know the truth.

"Where to now?"

Ranma asked, yawning. Rei took out his palm lap top and looked through the worlds. "The next world is about half an hour from here. We should be there shortly." Rei said quietly.

"Then, lets go!" Tyson cheered, rushing through the huge gates. Chuckling, Rei followed as did they. But, Bryan quietly explained to the others about finding Rei in a sweat from a nightmare and that they should watch out for any more signs.

Back in Traverse Town, things were going pretty smoothly since the ten had left for Wonderland. "You think that they're okay?" Emily asked worriedly. Michael gave the red headed girl a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure they're fine. Come on, we still need to perfect our training with our bit beasts before they come back." Emily nodded in agreement with the brunette and followed her fellow teammate outside so Leon could take them back to the hidden training area.

In an endless realm of darkness, a man that Rei knew all to well and loathed very much, was watching the gang who were making their way to the third world on their stop and grinned nastily as he watched the dream Rei had minutes before.

"So he begins to remember." His grin grew even nastier. If that was possible.

"And so the beginning of the end has begun."

"Perfect."

* * *

I'll get the revised Chapters 6 and 7 up in a minute. 


	7. The Deep Jungle Awaits

A/N: Revised Chapter 6 is officially up

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognize. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 6_**__

It was a little later that very same morning that they arrived to the next world. It looked to be a tropical jungle with a waterfall on the bottom and a tree house on top. "Hey, maybe your friend Kairi is down there Rei!" Tyson said, pointing down at the world. Rei frowned.

"In a backwater place like that? No way. We're moving on." He growled. "Hold on," Said Bryan. "We won't know unless we check it out." Rei's eyes slitted. "Forget it." He snapped back.

"Just land!" Tyson insisted.

"No!" Rei yelled.

"Come on!" Tyson pleaded.

"Aw nuts." Rei grumbled, crossing his arms as if he were pouting. "We're landing!" Tyson cheered. He reached for the controls.

"Don't touch that!" Rei cried.

The ship gave a tremendous lurch.

"Nooo!"

The ship sped for the world and that was the last thing any of them even knew.

Bryan grunted as he slowly came into consciousness. _Damn you Tyson_, he thought darkly, rubbing his throbbing head. He opened his eyes and looked around curiously in the run down wooden tree house. It looked as if some wild animal had come in and tore the place apart. All around him were the unconscious forms of Rei, Ranma and Yami.

But where were the Bladebreakers and White Tigers? "Ow, my head." Ranma groaned as he sat up. "This is all that Tyson's fault." Yami grumbled, also sitting up. Rei was silent as he rubbed his aching head. "Uh, where are they anyway?" Ranma asked curiously. Yami then realized they were indeed missing the other members to their gang.

"This isn't good." He said grimily.

Rei looked up sharply hearing a soft scatter of paws in the railings above them and unconsciously summoned Ultima to his hands. "What is it Rei?" Yami asked worriedly, seeing his friends' agitation. "We're not alone." Rei said tightly.

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

The Scan visor popped up and Rei focused onto the agile leopard. It growled at them, revealing needle point fangs. Its slitted yellow eyes glowed hungrily. "Wind!" Rei yelled, barely able to cast the defense spell as the leopard leapt for Rei's throat.

"Rei! You okay?!" Ranma demanded frantically, as he managed to jump behind the panting Keybearer. Rei leapt over the vicious leopard and delivered three fast blows to the feline. One to its back, another to its chest and the final was to its head. Suddenly, Rei slipped and fell onto his knees, the leopard lunged for its final attack. Ranma and Yami could only watch in horror as Rei lifted Ultima up to hopefully block the leopard's final blow.

Low human grunts came from above them, before a young man jumped from the railings and began waving a spear wildly in the direction of the leopard. With a growl, the leopard took off. Obviously, this would not be the last time they would see the cruel feline.

Ranma and Yami trotted over and helped Rei to his feet. And turned to thank his savior. The young man was very muscular with long dark brown hair and intense sea blue green eyes. He only wore a loin cloth around his waist and that was pretty much it.

"Sabor, danger." The man grunted.

Ranma sweat dropped. "Um, thanks for saving our friend." He said weakly. Yami smiled. "Yes, thank you."

"Thank you." The man repeated.

This baffled them. Why was he repeating their words? "Hm, what is this place?" Yami tried. "This place, this place." The man repeated slowly.

"Okaaay. . . we got separated from the others, our friends. Have you seen them? Friends..." Ranma said slowly, trying to get through. The man placed his hands over his hearts. "Friends!" Ranma nodded eagerly. Finally, they were getting through. "One is Tyson, er,"The four got quiet. "Never mind." Bryan said absent mindly. "We're looking for a girl named Kairi. Have you seen her?"

"Look for Kairi, friends?" Rei looked over the man's shoulder and saw the smiling face of Kairi. She smiled at him before fading from his sight. "Er, right." Said Rei. "Friends, here." Said the man. "Really?!" Ranma asked eagerly.

"&&X%. &&X%. Friends here." Rei blinked at the strange grunt. "Not sure we understand, but show us. Please take us to them." He pleaded. The man smiled. "Tarzan." He pointed to himself. "Tarzan go." Ranma snickered. "And I'm Rei. Tarzan go, Rei go." The man nodded. And sped out of the tree house.

Meanwhile

While Rei and his group was greeted by Tarzan, the others were just waking up in the middle of a clearing. On a stump of a rock no less.

"Where are we?" Lee grunted as he woke up. "I sure hope the others are okay." Max whispered. "This is all your fault Tyson!" Mariah snapped. "Give me a break!" Tyson yelled. "How was I supposed to know this would happen?!"

Huh?

From the bushes behind them came a bunch of gorillas. One glanced back at them before dropping a strange looking green piece of rock on the ground before disappearing from their sight with the other gorillas.

"What is that?" Mariah wondered, picking it up. "Not sure." Lee commented dryly. The bushes rustled again and they heard footsteps coming their way.

Uh oh.

Tarzan lead them out from the tree house and all four were blasted by intense heat. "Gods, it's too hot out here." Bryan grumbled. Only he and Ranma were sweating heavily. But not Rei and Yami.

"Uh, why aren't you two hot?" Ranma asked. "I used to be pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. And Egypt is usually much hotter than this." Yami explained. Rei met Bryan's gaze and said very simply.

"You already know." He muttered.

Tarzan jumped over the railing and they peered over to see that the jungle man was standing on a large net underneath. Rei smiled.

/You know, this is one of my favorite worlds./ He commented to Driger who was curious. Why?Rei chuckled. /You'll see./ He told the very curious white tiger.

Rei ignored the other three's shouts of protests as he jumped off the railing and onto the netting below and to their shock, followed Tarzan into the Jungle below by jumping off the netting.

"Damn." Yami cursed as he summoned the Curse of Dragon. Hopping onto the yellow dragon's back, they flew down into a tunnel of moss and trees far below. Yami recalled his monster and shot Rei a dirty look.

After he stopped snickering, Rei spoke up. "We have to ways of transportation." He said calmly. Bryan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?" He asked. Rei grinned. "We can either go by vines or, we can do a little tree surfing!" He said eagerly.

"Tree surfing sounds easier." Ranma said uneasily. Rei's eyes lit up. "Great. Then follow us!" He cheered and jumped through the hollow tree trunk.

Now for some fun.

They slid out of the trunk and were sliding down a large tree branch. Rei let out a loud whoop of joy. "You guys really need to lighten up!" He called over his shoulders, moving gracefully as he surfed the rough branches.

"Not with the Heartless attacking." Ranma grumbled. Rei laughed.

"Even in war you still need to keep hope."

Trees sped by them as they continued to slide down the ivy covered tree branches. Rei smiled. Being in the Deep Jungle was relaxing. Even if it meant he had to run into shudder Clayton again.

"Jane!" Called Tarzan.

A pretty dark haired woman turned after brushing her dark hair and smiled. She had very trust worthy blue eyes. Since this was a jungle she was wearing an off white tank top and a tan knee length skirt that was slitted up the left side. "Tarzan," She then noticed the four shy teens behind him. "Oh, and who's this?" She asked. They found themselves liking her, for her voice was warm and soothing.

Rei smiled. "Hi there, I'm - - " Jane was surprised to say the least. "Oh, you speak English." She glanced down at Tarzan. "So obviously you are not related to Tarzan here. Are you here to study the gorillas?" She questioned.

A voice then spoke, a voice that made Rei's blood boil in hatred.

"Highly doubtful." The voice grumbled.

The four turned and Ranma was relieved to see the other Beyblading teams standing there. A man in his late forties with greying dark hair and shrewd dark eyes stood behind the Beybladers. He wore a golden brown hunters jacket like shirt, tan pants and brown boots. Brown armbands were wrapped firmly around his wrists and he carried an old fashioned shot gun in his hands.

"Rei!" Tyson screeched, tackling the older boy into a hug. "A circus of clowns. Not much use for hunting gorillas." The man growled. Jane frowned.

"Really Mr. Clayton," She began sternly. "We're here to study them, not hunt them. This is research." Clayton merely scowled and stormed off in a rage. Jane sighed. "Oh well. The more the merrier. Do make yourselves at home." She said pleasantly after the wicked man left.

"Check out what we found Rei." Mariah showed him the strange looking gummi piece. Rei's eyes widen slightly. "That's a Protect-G, part of a gummi set." He explained at their curious looks.

"Apparently Tarzan was raised in the jungle by gorillas. Communicating with him still isn't easy, but he's learning." Bryan was impressed. Living in a jungle alone. That had to be very hard. "So he was speaking in "gorilla" back there..." Yami trailed off. "Ah that's right, you are looking for someone?" Ranma nodded.

"Yes. he said that Kairi was here. And one word we couldn't understand." Jane was thoughtful. "Why don't we try this? We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word." Jane looked around and frowned unhappily. "Oh, what happened to the slides?"

"I can go find them." Rei said quietly. "Thank you Rei." Jane said gratefully. Rei left the tent and was back within minutes, and in his hand was six metallic brown slides. Jane placed each one into the slide projector and they were soon looking upon the first slide.

It was of a magnificent castle with towers going as high as the skies, luscious trees surrounded the huge castle complete with gardens. All in all, it looked to be quiet beautiful.

"......" Came from Rei.

Yami looked over and didn't like what he saw. Rei's face was very pale and his eyes were very large. "What's wrong Rei?" Rei came out of his trance and gave a feeble smile. "What? Um...it's nothing." He mumbled. _That castle...so familiar. I know I've e been there before. But that's impossible. Right?_ He wondered.

Jane then showed them the rest of the slides. Before turning to Tarzan. "Well Tarzan?" She asked. Tarzan shook his head. Rei felt his heart sink into depression. What if he never found Kairi?

"Hey, I thought - - " Bryan trailed off. Clayton came back in.

"That just leaves one place young man. We've been in this jungle for some time now and we have yet to see this friend of yours." Rei's eyes slitted and a red light began to creep into them as he growled softly. Lee placed a hand on his shaking shoulder. "Rei, calm down. It's not wise to loose your cool." He hissed. Rei ignored his friend's plea as the Ultima Keyblade appeared in his hand.

"Rei, calm down!" Bryan snapped. Now Clayton was beginning to see why Rei was such a threat to their plans. He had to get rid of the brat. And soon.

_Cold yellow eyes watched the Keybearer loose control. "This was not supposed to happen!" She growled. And glared at the other elite Heartless Generals. "What happened?" She hissed in demand. The octopus sea witch Ursula frowned. "It would seem this happened on your territory Maleficent. So it's your problem!" The witch growled._

_Maleficent, an evil and very cruel sorceress, scowled. "So it would appear that the Keybearer is a Heartless." She mused, the news sinking in. _

_This would bear looking into for awhile._

Now Rei's eyes kept flickering between hellish red and bluish white. Jane glanced at Tarzan in worry. Tarzan glanced between the enraged Keymaster and Clayton and finally made his choice. Jane gulped.

"Are you sure Tarzan?" She asked worriedly.

Tarzan nodded. "Tarzan go see Kerchak."

__"Kerchak?" Jane repeated in confusion.

"He must be the leader of the clan." Yami guessed. Clayton gave a cruel smile. This was just perfect. Rei had calmed down somewhat, but was still glaring at Clayton with pure hatred. This would take some time getting used to. Ranma sighed. There was only one word he could describe for this group.

Chaos.

After Clayton left the tent, Rei tilted his head. "I hear Sabor out there." He said quietly. "Who's Sabor?" Lee asked. "A vicious leopard." Jane said grimily. "Do be careful out there." She said worriedly. Rei made sure he had a healthy supply of Potions and Elixirs in his Item slot and held Ultima in his hand.

"Let's go." He told them.

Ranma was now holding his shield and Yami his staff, they made their way out slowly and carefully. Once outside, Rei rapidly cast Aeroga so they would be safe. Even though it only deflected attacks, you could still get hurt.

"Yeow-ouch!" Rei yelped in pain as Sabor's claws ripped across his chest drawing forth thick black blood. Grumbling, Rei unleashed a massive blast of thunder on the unsuspecting feline. But just as quickly as he arrived, Sabor took off for the thickets. Rei hissed slightly as the black blood continued to flow. "We got to stop the blood flowing." Lee said worriedly. "I'm fine." Rei growled. "No you're not." Mariah said sternly. "....." Came the reply. She gasped and knew she wasn't the only one.

Slowly, the bleeding stopped and faded and they watched in shock as the gashes sealed themselves up. Not even a scar remained. "H-how?" Yami stuttered. Rei smiled.

"Simple. It was the Curaga spell." He said calmly. "Meaning...?" Max trailed off. Rei grinned. "Meaning I can heal myself of serious injuries." "Remember where we landed when we came from the trees?" Rei asked suddenly.

"Yes, why?" Yami asked. "Because there is a way to the vines from the lagoon." Rei explained. "How?" Tyson asked. "Just follow me." Rei said a little too cheerfully. That couldn't be a good sign.

Passing through a bunch of trees and moss, sitting peacefully by the first lagoon with a hippo, was a huge tree that reached up towards the skies for miles on end. Rei started to climb up the vine covered tree. The others exchanged looks. "I guess we follow him." Bryan mumbled, also starting to climb up the tree. The others quickly followed in hot pursuit.

The second they got up to the upper tree area, they, minus Rei, whirled around in shock as a strange green fire swirled on the ground next to a weird looking flower. "What on earth is that thing?!" Mariah screeched. Rei smiled thinly. "That's a Rest Point. Its purpose is mainly to replenish energy and magic points. It also serves as a gateway back to the Gummi Ship." He explained.

Oh.

"Are those vines?" Tyson asked suddenly. "Hm?" Rei turned and grinned widely as a bunch of vines swung freely in front of them. Still grinning, Rei leapt off the tree surface they were on and had grabbed ahold of the plant and began to swing back and forth. He proceeded to swing from vine to vine until he reached a set of trees with a branch crossing over, forming a doorway of some sorts.

It took a while, but the gang also managed to follow.

By passing through the strange doorway, they met up with an intense Tarzan rapidly speaking to a bunch of Gorillas looming over them from a tree branch higher up.

"Please Kerchak!" Tarzan pleaded.

Kerchak shook his head and the group of gorillas left. "What was that all about?" Yami questioned, catching the fleeting glance the head gorilla had cast in the direction of a certain house.

"Was he looking in the direction of the tree house?" Ranma wondered out loud. Rei was thoughtful. "I can get us there faster by teleporting." He said quietly. He held out his hand, and they formed a circle. "I feel stupid." Tyson mumbled. Rei then closed his eyes as a blinding silver light flared up around him. As the light washed over them, it felt as if someone was filling them up with a peaceful warmth that made them feel safe. Everything was a bright white for a second, and when they could see again, only four recognized the Tree House they had landed on.

Lee saw Clayton aiming his gun at something inside the wooden house and anger filled him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He snarled, running ahead. He slammed into a very surprised hunter, whose gun went off, shooting the roof instead. Rei glared at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ranma hissed, his stormy eyes flashing darkly.

"I saw a snake, I was merely saving that gorilla's life!" Clayton pleaded. Rei's eerie eyes slitted as he bared his needle point fangs at a stunned man. "Don't steep yourself too deep in the darkness Clayton." Rei said suddenly, a dangerous growl was heard in his voice. Almost as if two beings were talking at the same time.

"What are you talking about boy?" Clayton demanded hotly. Rei grinned nastily, his fangs glittered under the hot sun. "The Heartless consume the weak." Kai then recalled that Rei said the exact same thing to him in Russia.

Clayton growled and stormed off in a rage. When he left, the gang turned to Rei curiously. "What was that all about?" Yami asked curiously. Rei snorted. "Clayton happens to be a Heartless General. Although he's one of their weakest fighters, he's still one of **_them_**." Rei snarled.

WHAT?!

Tyson was shaking. If from fury or shock, it was hard to tell. "How do you know if he is one?" Kevin asked shakily. Rei eyed him emotionlessly. "I just do." He said simply. "We might as well head back to the camp. There's nothing else for us here." Gary said quietly. Rei nodded in agreement. Before anyone could protest, Rei jumped over the side and once more into the jungle below. Shrugging, they quickly joined him.

_The vizier Jafar watched the scenes with very little amusement. "That pathetic fool Clayton will not get the job done. When that brat is in Agrabah, I'll make sure he won't succeed in finding the keyhole." He growled. "Hah, and how do you plan to do that?" Sneered the sea witch Ursula. _

_Jafar grinned nastily, his face twisting to make it even more sour looking. "Simple. With this." He held up a pure crystallized black arrow. Inside the arrow was dark purple lightning. It cackled all around the simple object. _

_"What is it?" She asked dumbly. _

_"This arrow is forged from the energy of the strongest of all Heartless. It will draw out the darkness within the brat and force him to destroy all of his friends."_

_Ursula grinned. _

"AH-CHOO!" Rei sneezed loudly.

"You okay?" Bryan questioned after they landed safely on hard ground, in an area they've never been in. "Thought I heard someone talking about me." Rei muttered, wiping his nose. "Where are we anyway?" Lee asked.

Hm.

Rei looked around. Nothing but trees all around them and a bunch of rocks. In the distance he could hear a waterfall. Albeit barely.

"Seems we landed in the cliff side of the jungle." Then his eyes widen. "Then that means- - woah!" He yelped as Sabor once more attacked them. Ultima barely had anytime to appear in his hands as he dodged the swiping claw. Ranma scowled and held out his right hand. Palm facing the vicious leopard. Slowly, bright blue energy began to cackle all around his fingertips, each energy lightning bolt drained into his hand, forming a ball the size of a basketball.

Ranma then fired the ball of energy at the leopard. Sabor yelped in pain and raced off. "What was that?!" Tyson demanded. Ranma blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a weak laugh. "That was a _ki_ attack. Sorry about tha'." He said sheepishly. Rei gave him a warm smile. "Impressive Ranma." He mused. Ranma blushed even harder.

They passed through the Bamboo Thicket and into the camp. Everything seemed okay. Although, the Beybladers had a hard time believing that one. Ignoring the silence, Rei headed back into the tent and they took that as their cue to follow him.

"YOU?!" Rei snarled out, seeing Clayton standing there, desperately trying to explain to Jane about his _true_ intentions.

"I suggest you leave Clayton." Tyson hissed, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Ranma and Yami glared at Clayton, and Rei had Ultima pointed at Clayton's throat. "Leave before Ultima rips you apart." Rei sneered.

Clayton scowled at them, but he left quietly. Rei grew thoughtful after he had eft. "I'll just check around to make sure everything is safe." He muttered before teleporting away. Tyson shook his head warily.

"I wish Rei would let us in and help him." He grumbled. About half an hour later, Rei returned, slightly panting. "We got two types of Heartless here to worry about. Powerwilds and Bouncywilds." Rei explained. He then brought out a leather journal from his pocket and in glittering gold letters were:

**_Other Worlds_**

**_Characters_**

**_Dalmatian List_**

**_Trinity Limit_**

Rei touched the one marked _Characters_. It opened to a page and more words were highlighted there:

**_Characters I_**

**_Characters II_**

**_Heartless I_**

**_Heartless II_**__

He touched the _Heartless I_, and it opened up to another page and he flipped through it before touching the word; _Powerwilds_. The Powerwilds looked like ordinary monkeys, save for the fact their fur was mostly dark blue with a bit of purple around the ankles and wrists. They also wore gold armbands and bracelets around their wrists and ankles.

The _Bouncywilds_ looked similar to the Powerwilds, only where their fur was blue, the Bouncywilds fur was orange. And where the Powerwilds fur was purple, the Powerwilds had light yellowish fur. Yet, both had the same glowing yellow eyes and the Heartless crests on their chests.

Mariah made a face.

"Yuck." She whined.

"They're gross."

Rei rolled his eyes at her immatureness. "We still need to find the Keyhole." Yami said quietly. "Then let's go out there and find it." Said Tyson.

However, the second they left the tent behind, a gunshot rang out. "Sounds like Clayton is going after the gorillas." Bryan growled. He defiantly did not like the man one little bit. "But, where did it come from?" Ranma questioned.

Rei listened to the echoing and sniffed the air for the scent of gun powder. He frowned. "It's coming from the Bamboo thicket. Come on." He mumbled, leading the way.

They ran into the huge clearing with nothing but bamboo trees all around them with only a single rock that was close to the entrance of the cliff area. Sitting on the rock was Clayton's pipe. And it was still warm.

_Rustle, rustle._

Rei tensed and summoned Ultima. They noticed his agitation and became quiet worried for their friend.

"Is something wrong?" Lee asked gently. "We're not alone." Rei growled. This set off a warning signal to both Ranma and Yami, who also silently summoned their new weapons to hand. The shimmering shield appeared in Ranma's right hand and Yami was holding his shiny golden staff in his left hand.

"RROOAAARRR!"

The leopard gave a mighty roar as he once again ambushed them! Rei quickly leapt over the mighty feline and his eyes stayed locked on the ferocious animal. The Beyblader's readied their beyblades. "Ready guys?" Lee asked quietly. "Ready." Tyson said grimily.

3..2...1...Let er rip!

"Let's do this Dragoon!" Tyson yelled as the magnificent blue dragon appeared. "Protect Rei with everything you got Galleon!" Lee ordered as the black lion gave a roar and leapt forward. "Stop that leopard Falborg!" Bryan yelled.

"Come on Gaulx!" Mariah cried. "Help them Draciel!" Max commanded.

Yami held up a card with a green back round. The picture on it was that of a building on fire.

"Ookazi!" He cried.

Great balls of fire shot from the sky and slammed into the ground around Sabor, causing the large cat to yelp in pain. Rei grinned as he watched Sabor's health fail. Just one combo attack and that feline was history. Rei jumped into the air and slammed Ultima into Sabor's back, neck and head. He leapt back and landed in front of the others, Ultima fading as he did so.

Slowly, Sabor's fierce yellow eyes faded into nothingness as the feline slumped onto the ground in a lifeless heap. When all of a sudden, one of the now dead leopard's fangs popped out. Rei picked it up and pocketed it. "At least that mangy feline is gone." Bryan said pleased.

He flinched from the death glares he received from both Rei and the White Tigers. All four being neko-jin's, meant they carried feline qualities. "Of course I don't mean you four." Bryan said frantically. "Somehow, I have a feeling this is far from over." Yami mused.

Oh Yami, you have no idea how right you are.

Back at camp, Jane was surprised when Tarzan's long time gorilla friend 'Terk' ran into her, and huddled fearfully behind her. Jane hugged the shivering gorilla and gasped as a familiar figure came into the tent.

They were in big trouble.

* * *

11 pages long this one is. Hope you like it. Oh yeah, before I even work on the "Halloweentown" Chapter, can anyone find me the lyrics for these songs:

1) "Grim, Grinning Ghosts" - Singing Busts

2) "Somebody's Watching Me" - Morris Day

3) "Things That Go Bump In The Night" - JACK

4) "Monster Mash" - Brian O'Neal and The BusBoys

All four mentioned songs are played on the "Haunted Mansion" album. I'll be very grateful, and will award the person who can find all **four** lyrics by dedicating the Halloweentown chapter to the winner.


	8. Clayton's Downfall

A/N: Here ye go everyone.

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize

**_Chapter 7_**__

Traverse Town

Robert sighed as he got off the ground. Ever since Rei and his group left, the ones who had remained behind to train where being trained by Leon; who was skilled in swordsmanship, Yuffie; who was skilled in the ways of Ninjitsu, and Aerith; who was skilled in archery and healing.

"You are getting better kid." Yuffie encouraged and brushed a lock of dark hair from her sweaty face. "All of you are indeed getting better." Aerith said kindly.

"I just hope that Rei and the others are okay." Steve said worriedly. "I'm sure they are." Kenny said quietly. Emily shivered. "I just can't help but feel that they're in some kind of trouble." She mumbled.

Lately these past few weeks had been torture at Traverse Town. For there had been sightings of Heartless in the Second and Third districts. But how could that be? Rei, Ranma and Yami insisted they got rid of the Heartless. Kenny's eyes grew wide with fear as he realized the truth behind their troubles.

The Heartless were searching for something.

But what?

"AH-CHOO!" Rei sneezed loudly

And some birds flew away from the loud echoing sound. Tyson looked at him weirdly. "You okay? That was the second time ya sneezed today." He pointed out. "Obviously someone is talking about me." Rei said dryly. "We need to get back to the camp. I have a feeling Jane may need us." Yami said quietly. Rei frowned. "I think you're right." He agreed. "We're too far away. How can we get to the campsite?" Bryan demanded. Rei suddenly grinned. Bryan froze and began to wave his hands frantically. "No way Rei! You are not teleporting us there!" He yelled.

Rei's grin grew and before they could protest, the flash of light blinded them and when they could see again, they were standing in front of the camp tent. Everyone, minus Rei, stumbled slightly. Lee shook his head, trying to clear away the dizziness.

"Next time, warn us." He grumbled.

Rei laughed softly.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Uh, are those more Heartless?" Max asked slowly, pointing to the left of tent.

Dancing was a mushroom like creature, about the size of a Soldier. It had a white body, a red cap on its head, glowing yellow eyes and the Heartless crest on its chest. Rei's eyes lit up. "Don't worry, the White Mushroom is actually the only good Heartless. Just watch it for a second." He explained.

Suddenly, the White Mushroom started to shiver.

"Firaga!" Rei called.

The White Mushroom jumped up and down excitedly. Then it fanned itself.

"Blizzaga!"

This time, an icy blue mist shot from the Keyblade. The White Mushroom jumped up and down once more. Now, a light appeared over its head and it appeared to go to sleep.

"Thundaga!"

After the bolts of lightning vanished. The White Mushroom jumped up and down and vanished. That was when a bunch of bubbles appeared on the ground and a blue box with gold vines wrapping it. Rei simply touched the bubbles, and green dust flickered around him as he picked up the box. The box then vanished into who knows where.

"What was that?" Lee asked after it had passed. Rei looked up with a smile. "Easy, the White Mushroom will give out gifts if you can guess the right spell to use. Sometimes they even drop **Mystery Goo** if you get a spell three times in a row right." He was thoughtful. "And if I remember correctly, **Mystery Goo** is very rare and can be sold for over a thousand gold coins." He said quietly.

"Let's just get to Jane and get out of here." Tyson muttered. Something was in the air that made him feel very uneasy. He just didn't know what.

Inside the tent, the gang found it to be empty. "She's gone." Lee said in shock. Rei's eyes flared with rage. "That bastard Clayton did this. I know he did." He hissed, his eerie bluish white eyes flashing darkly. "But where is she?" Bryan asked.

"Near Tree house." Grunted Tarzan.

Time for another teleportation. Bryan sighed. He hated the feeling of teleporting from one place to another. It felt odd having your molecules rearrange themselves on their own.

After the silver light cleared from their eyes, they were standing in the viney area that would lead up towards the Tree House. Hanging from the biggest tree there was a huge black fruit. "Well? Where is she?" Lee asked. Before Rei could answer, there was a number of soft hisses as a massive group of Powerwilds showed up.

Rei's eyes locked onto the fruit. "You guys handle the Powerwilds, I'll get Jane down safely." He ordered. "You can count on us Rei." Tyson said confidently as he and the other beybladers took out their beyblades and summoned the powerful bit beasts to the field.

Ultima appeared in Rei's hands as the Scan visor showed up over his eyes. Powerwilds were blocking him from reaching the giant fruit. Frowning, he leapt over their heads and brought down Ultima on the fruit and grunted as the force sent him flying. "Rei!" Ranma cried, bashing in a Powerwilds head. The monkey Heartless he just attacked yelped in pain before dissenter grating into nothing as a pure crystallized heart flew away.

Rei didn't have time to cry out in pain as he slammed into a set of trees. He groaned as he got up. He shook his head dizzily and glared at the oncoming Heartless. Suddenly, his form blurred as he rushed forward. "Rei?" Yami asked, blinking in shock. He had never seen anyone move so fast before. Ranma was stunned. Rei was even faster than he was!

Moving faster than the eye could see, Rei repeatedly bashed the giant black fruit in until it melted, dropping a very shocked Jane and Terk. Angry, the Powerwilds than vanished in front of their eyes.

"Jane, who did this to you?" Yami asked gently.

Jane was trembling. If it was with rage or fear, they weren't quiet sure. "It was Clayton who did this to us." She whispered. Rei growled. "I knew it." He snarled.

"We have to finish him once and for all." Ranma growled. "But where is he?" Yami demanded coldly. He would love to eradicate Clayton once and for all. Hopefully throw his soul into the shadows for all eternity. Rei closed his eyes, although it was hard to see them because of the Scan visor still staying visible.

"He's down by the cliffs." He said sharply, reopening his eyes he used teleportation once more and the gang were now standing in the rough clearing that was the cliffs. Clayton stood there, obviously waiting for them. And he had some Powerwilds dancing about. "Not Clayton!" Tarzan grunted.

"&&X%! Not Clayton!" Tarzan repeated.

Clayton scowled. "Finally I can rid of you and your pathetic friends Keymaster." He sneered. Rei snorted. "As if that's gonna happen." He grumbled.

"Say goodbye boy." Said Clayton as he aimed his shot gun at Rei. Rei merely smirked as he silently cast his wind spell. The barrier of mist shot up all around him just as Clayton fired. The bullet merely bounced off and slammed into the nearest rock. Yami held up a monster card. "I summon the Silver Fang!" He cried. The card flashed a bright yellow before shifting into the actual monster.

Silver Fang was a beautiful snow white wolf with glowing yellow eyes. It howled, forcing Clayton and the Powerwilds to step back slightly.

Silver Fang

ATK/1200

DEF/800

"Silver Fang, destroy the Powerwilds! NOW!" Yami roared. Silver Fang let out another vicious howl and rushed at the nearest Powerwild and bit its razor sharp fangs deep into it shoulder. The Powerwild screeched in pain as it tried to fight off the white wolf. Clayton was nervous. Seemed the Keymaster was much stronger than before.

Rei vanished and reappeared behind Clayton, and grinning nastily, he sliced the stunned hunter's shoulder with Ultima. Clayton yowled in pain and scrambled away from Rei, clutching his wounded shoulder. Clayton glared at Rei, who simply smiled and walked forward.

"What's the matter Clayton? You've looked like you've seen a ghost." He teased. "And you really should get something for that shoulder of yours. It looks terrible." Unknowingly, his eerie eyes started to take on a red hue and Clayton began to shiver as the air around the two seemed to drop a few degrees.

Suddenly, the ground gave a tremendous lurch and the mountains behind Clayton exploded, sending rocks flying everywhere. Rei hissed under his breath as it appeared that Clayton was floating in the air. But that was impossible. Right?

Rei aimed his eyes at the so called 'ride' of Clayton when he scowled. "A Stealth Sneak!" He growled.

"A what?!" Tyson screeched.

"It's like a chameleon. It remains invisible until its health drops to zero." Rei grinned, revealing his fangs. "And I have just the thing to do it. You guys take care of Clayton."

He quickly jumped into the air, and much to everyone's shock, stayed there. "How the hell are you doing that brat?!" Clayton demanded. Rei simply smirked. Ranma kept firing balls of bluish energy at Clayton while the Beybladers happily sent their bit beasts to attack the infernal hunter. The invisible Stealth Sneak lunged for Rei, who simply moved to the right, easily avoiding damage.

Rei's grin grew as he had the perfect trick to beat both Stealth Sneak and Clayton. At least he hoped it would work on the fighting duo. "I have an idea. I just need a little more help with magic." He whispered to them as he floated back down to the ground. "You have our support." Yami mumbled, creating as shield of pure black mist to block the bullets from Clayton's gun. Rei smiled. "Thanks." He whispered, already powering up.

"POWER!" He yelled.

Bright golden light surrounded him and Ultima. A strange circle of woven lines appeared beneath his feet, glowing slightly. He jumped into the air, did a flip so he would slam the tip of the Keyblade into the ground. Instantly, a ball of bright white light hovered over his body, and sent out beams of energy through out the entire area. The whole sky was lit up in fact.

When the light faded, Rei collapsed on one knee, panting heavily. To everyone's shock, the giant chameleon like creature appeared, only it was burnt to a crisp. Lee laughed at that sight. Clayton only yelled in fear as Stealth Sneak fell on him. "Heh, that bastard deserved it." Rei grumbled. "You okay?" Tyson asked worriedly.

Rei was a bit pale and sweating slightly. Rei waved him off. "I'm fine. Just used up all of my magic that's all." He said sleepily. "What was that attack anyway?" Ranma asked curiously. "It's called the Trinity Limit. It's my most powerful attack ever. It will drain the magic from myself and my friends who have magic, and it will unleash in a massive blast of energy. Killing anything that has darkness." He explained.

Hm?

They turned, hearing a twig snap. Rei blinked, as the lead gorilla; Kerchak, approached him first. Before Rei could say anything, the gorilla picked him up and tossed him a bit roughly onto the ledge above them. The others cried out in shock as they were treated to the same treatment. Tarzan gave a rare smile to Kerchak who simply lead the other gorillas away. "What just happened?" Mariah asked. Rei gave a small smile. "I guess Kerchak finally trusts us." He said quietly.

"Follow Tarzan." Tarzan said simply and pointed to the entrance to a cave. "Lead the way then." Rei said cheerfully.

Rei looked up at the cave wall, which by the way was at the very top. "It's beautiful here." Mariah breathed as white butterflies fluttered around them. A keyhole appeared in the cave wall where the butterflies had been occupying. Rei raised Ultima up and pointed.

Tiny gold stars swirled around the tip as a thin beam of blue light shot into the keyhole. The gang smiled as they heard the lock click and the keyhole vanished, dropping a gummi piece on the ground. Rei silently pocketed it.

"Tarzan home." Tarzan said quietly. Rei jumped. He didn't even hear the jungle man come up behind them.

"&&X%." He repeated that odd word.

"This is your home?" Bryan asked curiously. "Huh?" Ranma perked up, hearing the sounds of water rushing. "Waterfalls...they're echoing all the way here." Jane breathed as she and Terk came out of the shadows.

"&&X%. Friends there. See friends." Jane's eyes widen in realization. "Oh, now I've got it. &&X% means heart. Friends in our hearts." She said softly. "Heart..." Tarzan repeated. "So that's what it meant." Yami mused. "Friends, same heart. Clayton, loose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends." Tarzan said sadly.

About twenty minutes later they were standing in the tent once more, ready to leave for Traverse Town soon. "We like to thank you for all your help. Please have this as a token of our gratitude." Jane gave Rei what looked to be a keychain and on the keychain was a white butterfly. Rei smiled. "Thank you for the Jungle King. We best get going now." He said gently as he lead the others to the Rest Point.

Jane and Tarzan were amazed as all eight teenagers vanished in a blaze of tiny green stars. But they knew they had made a true friend in the Keymaster.

* * *

The gang returns to Traverse Town for a well deserved rest. And who knows what the Heartless are planning for the tiny town? 


	9. Return to Traverse Town

A/N: Back to Traverse Town we go

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Same as usual.

**_Chapter 9_**__

Traverse Town

It had been a week since Rei and his group returned from the other worlds. The second they had arrived, they ignored everyone else, headed to the Second District's Hotel and fell fast asleep.

Kenny walked up to Emily who sighed heavily. "Hey." He greeted. "Hey." She said tiredly. Amusement appeared on his face. "They're still sleeping?" He asked lightly.

"Yes. Although, I don't see why." She grumbled. "Maybe because we basically went to three worlds straight without much rest?" Asked a dry voice from behind them. The two jumped, standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest was Rei.

Rei blinked away the sleep as he eyed his two friends warily. "How are you feeling?" Asked Eddie. He and the other beybladers, minus the ones who were still sleeping. Hell, even Ranma and Yami were still asleep. Rei shrugged. "Fine. A bit stiff. But I'm doing alright." He frowned and looked around. "Um, where's Leon?" He asked.

"What's going on?" Asked a sleepy voice. Rei looked up to see the group he had been with were now awake, and trying to get the sleep out of their eyes. Emily was thoughtful. "I think Yuffie said he may be down at an underground cavern. Says he trains there often." She mused. Rei nodded.

"I know where that is. Anyone like to come?" He asked cheerfully. The two Beyblading teams and Bryan groaned. Rei's cheerfulness was as bad as Max on sugar high.

After awhile, Yami and Ranma agreed to come. Rei grinned. "Then let's go!" He cheered and led the other two teens out of the other's sights.

_ A pair of blood red eyes watched from the dark corners of a certain Keyblade Master's mind. The being was actually black mist that had a distinctive humanoid shape. It gave a raspy chuckle._

_ {Soon Sora you will be mine.}_

They had re-entered the Green Room at the Hotel. "Uh, Rei?" Ranma began. "Hm?" Came the reply from Rei. "Why are we in the hotel?" Ranma asked. Rei smiled. "Because behind the hotel is the way into the alley. Which by the way is the underground cavern is located." He explained.

Oh.

Rei opened the door that would lead to the back of the hotel and gestured for the duo to follow him. They did, and were standing out on the back porch of the Green Room. "Um, how are we to get down?" Yami asked uneasily.

"And I hope you don't mean for us to jump." Rei tensed. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you." Rei said carefully. "Rei..." Ranma warned.

The neko-jin winced and waved his hands frantically. "See that blocked up gate all the way down there?" Rei asked, pointing down below and to the far right where a blocked up gate stood.

"Yes. Why?" Yami asked suspiciously.

Rei gave a weak smile. "Well, that's the underground entrance. It's only blocked off by a red Trinity Mark." He explained softly. Before the duo could blink, Rei tucked in his feet slightly and jumped off the balcony and landed gracefully underneath on the hard stone ground below.

Rei looked up sharply, recognizing the hisses of Heartless appearing. What appeared to look like Blue Rhapsodies and Red Nocturnes appeared. Only these were yellow and green. Yellow Operas and Green Requiems.

Just perfect.

"Fire!"

Yami shot a small blast of flames from his staff at the Green Requiems, causing the three Green Elementals to burst into dust. Ranma fired a blast of bluish energy which wiped out the Yellow Operas. "What where those Heartless?" Ranma demanded as they landed on the ground, next to Rei.

"The Yellow Operas are thunder elementals while the Green Requiems can heal their comrades. So in other words..." He trailed off. "Take out the Green Requiems first. I understand." Said Yami. Rei smiled. They were getting better at understanding the Heartless.

Not bad.

Standing in front of them was a long creek. Rei carefully stepped into the cold water and ignored the iciness as he sloshed through to the gate at the end. Yami followed, but Ranma hesitated. Rei glanced back to see Ranma's hesitation. "Is something wrong?" He asked gently. Ranma shook his head frantically.

"No! Nothing's wrong..." He stammered. Yami raised an eyebrow. This did not seem like Ranma at all. "Are you coming?" He questioned.

Ranma drew in a sharp breath and hesitatingly stepped into the icy water and waited for something. His eyes flew open. _Why didn't I change?_ He wondered as he realized he was still himself.

Rei shot him a curious look. "Remember when I did the Trinity Limit?" He said suddenly. Ranma nodded. "Yeah, why?" He asked. Rei smiled. "Well, the Trinity Limit drained not only my magic, but Yami's and yours." Ranma gaped. "Me? But I don't have magic!" He protested. Rei frowned as he Scanned in Ranma's aura.

"You used to. But it's gone now." Ranma suddenly understood and was ecastic. "Thank you so much!" He said happily. Rei chuckled, not quite sure why Ranma was so happy.

They soon came up to the gate way. "How do we get inside?" Yami asked. "Look down." Rei instructed. The two did and noticed the red Trinity Mark. "Blue Trinity marks you have to jump, Red Trinity marks are the 'bash' marks." Rei explained. At their confused looks, he sighed heavily. "Just follow my instructions." They nodded.

Rei ran forward, and slammed his body into the gate. It started to crack under his weight. Yami caught on and slammed into the gate as well. More cracks appeared. It was with Ranma's combined weight that the gate gave way and the trio quickly darted through before anymore Heartless could show up.

The water only came up to about their ankles so they sloshed forward and around the corner to find Aerith and Leon talking quietly on the only area not covered in water. Still sloshing through, they made their way up to the two. Aerith smiled pleasantly. "Hello Rei. How is your journey?" She asked kindly.

Rei smiled tiredly. "Slowly but surely we're winning. But..." He trailed off. "Why? What's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Rei was silent. "He's worried about Kairi. I don't blame him." Ranma said softly.

"Yes. We still haven't found any clues to her whereabouts." Yami said grimily. Aerith gave Rei a sad look and to everyone's surprise, hugged him gently. "I thought you may need a hug to cheer you up." He smiled. "Thank you." Ranma then realized something.

"Hey Rei, why don't you show him that weird gummi we found?" He suggested. Rei's eyes lit up and he took out the gummi piece and handed it to the slightly older man. Leon just frowned as he inspected it. "Fraid I don't know." He muttered, handing it back. "You should go to Cid about Gummi blocks." Aerith added kindly.

"Wait Rei, take this." Leon gave Rei a shiny green stone. Rei looked at it curiously but bit his lips as it burst into tiny green stars which flew right into his heart.

"Are you okay?" Yami asked worriedly. Rei nodded, not really trusting his voice at the moment. "Where is this Cid located?" Ranma asked. "Go back to the First District, he runs the Accessory Shop." Aerith explained.

First District

The other Beybladers looked up as Rei, Ranma and Yami came around the corner of the Accessory Shop, Lee could barely make out their words.

"...the place?..."

Came Ranma's faint voice.

"...yes..."

Was Rei's answer. Surprisingly, the trio ignored their calls, and entered the large building.

Inside, Ranma and Yami were surprised to see a man behind the counter as they stepped inside. The man looked to be in his late twenties with spiky blond hair and sharp blue eyes. He was dressed like a pilot of some sorts. The man turned, hearing the door open. "How can I help- - aw, it's just a bunch of kids." He grumbled.

Rei scowled. "We're not kids. And the names Rei." He growled. The man raised an eyebrow. "Take it easy Rei. I didn't mean anything like that. Anyway, what can I do for you?" He asked, politely. Ranma gave a cocky grin. "Can ya install these two gummi blocks old man?" The man scowled. "Don't call me that. The names Cid. And yes, I can install these Navi-G pieces. Only if you do something for me in return."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And that would be?" He asked. Cid took out a worn looking book behind the counter and handed it over to Rei. "An old man came by and asked me to repair it. I've finished it. Only I can't leave the shop unattended. So I'm gonna need you three to deliver it to him. He lives out in the Third District."

Rei pocketed the book.

"When you're done, meet me in the Vacant house in the there." Rei nodded and the three left. Cid watched and shook his head.

"That's the kid who's gonna save us?" He wondered. "God help us all."

Back outside, they were surrounded by the others. "Did you find any information on those strange gummi blocks we found?" Max asked. Yami nodded. "Yes. Cid said he could install them into the Gummi Ship if we deliver an old book to a man out in the Third District." He explained.

Oh.

Rei smiled. "Don't worry about us. We'll be back shortly. You guys just focus on training." He teased as the trio went through the gateway to the Third District. Tala scowled.

Third District

Ranma shivered. "No offence, but this place gives me the creeps." He mumbled. Yami frowned. "I don't blame you." He said quietly. They were standing in front of the door that connected the First and Third Districts together.

Rei frowned and looked around. "Do you see those stairways over there?" He asked quietly, gesturing to the stairways ahead of them. They nodded.

"Look closer." He instructed.

It was Ranma who spotted the long, dark and eerie tunnel. "Is that where the man lives? Down there?" He asked, pointing. Rei nodded.

"Must be a strange man." Ranma mumbled. Rei chuckled. They headed for the back corridor, and for some strange reason, they didn't run into any Heartless.

Very odd.

They came up to a large stone door that bore a flaming symbol on the front. Rei held out a hand and summoned a ball of fire and threw it at the door. The flame symbol flashed a bright red and a chime rang in the air and the door lifted up, granting them access to the area behind the stone door.

The trio were standing on a small shore, and they could make out a very odd looking hut floating on an island in the middle of the tiny lake. Five large stones in the water led up to the house. Rei quickly jumped onto the first one, only to have it actually move from side to side.

"Careful. All the stones must be like this." He warned. The duo agreed. It took awhile, but they eventually made it across the lake and onto the soft grass of the hut that was floating on the island.

Hm.

Rei moved to the left side of the house and grinned. "I found a way in." He said excitedly. Yami brushed the green curtain aside and they entered the house. Inside they found an empty circular room. In the middle was a large circular stone with a mini stairway leading up to it. "Weird. It doesn't look like anyone's been in here for years." Ranma mused.

While Ranma and Yami explored, Rei was quiet but was startled out of his thoughts by a sweet voice talking to him. "I just love this place, don't you Sora?" Rei looked up to see Kairi walking next to him. "Doesn't it remind you of the Secret Place back home?" She asked excitedly. Rei smiled sadly. _Kairi_, he thought wistfully.

"Rei?"

Rei blinked, and Kairi was gone. "You okay?" It was Ranma who had called out his name. Rei gave a small nod and a sad smile. "I'm fine Ranma. Don't worry." He told the martial artist. "Well, you are here earlier than I expected." Mused an elderly voice. All three whirled around to see an old man standing at the entrance. The man had kind black eyes that peered over a very long silver beard. He simply wore a deep blue robe and a pointy hat on his head.

"Not to be rude or anything sir, but who are you?" Yami questioned. The man chuckled, his black eyes never leaving Rei's own bluish white ones.

"Since the Keymaster has not told you, my name is Merlin, and I am here to instruct you on the ways of magic. And that includes the other Beybladers." It took a minute for it to settle in Ranma and Yami's mind.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Hee, hee, seems Ranma and Yami just met one of the most powerful sorcerer's of all time. 


	10. Darkness Rising

A/N: Let's see now, Ranma and Yami just met up with the powerful Merlin, and had just been told that the ancient wizard was gonna train them in the ways of magic. Interesting, eh?

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize

**_Chapter 9_**__

Ranma, and Yami could only stare at both Merlin and Rei in shock. Rei knew the greatest wizard of all times? Rei pulled out the book Cid had given him and handed it over. Merlin smiled. "Thank you Rei." Rei relaxed as Merlin used his second name. He didn't want Ranma and Yami knowing the truth just yet. "Just give me a minute to settle in."

Merlin went up to the circular stone and sat his bag on a second, yet smaller circular stone on top. He took out a long black stick; obviously his wand, and began waving and dancing about. To their amusement, many kinds of house hold objects began to float out and insert themselves into the room.

In a flash of white light, the empty room was now full of objects. Such as a bed, a dresser, one regular table and two desks, a number of books scattered about, a telescope and some vases stood by the entrance.

Wow.

"There we go. All done now." Merlin said cheerfully. Yami and Ranma felt their jaws drop down in shock. Rei giggled at the sight. Blushing, the two closed their mouths.

"It's not funny." Ranma grumbled, still red. "Yes it is!" Rei squealed between giggles. "Oh, and may I introduce the Fairy Godmother?" Merlin continued.

A funny looking tiny white pumpkin like carriage, that was sitting next to the entrance was surrounded by blue dust and in a flash, an elderly, yet slightly chubby, woman was standing there. She wore a pale blue dress with a slightly darker blue cloak with a hood. Her wand, unlike Merlin's which was black, her's was white.

"I too, shall be helping you in training with magic." She said gently.

"Can you tell us what this is?" Yami asked politely, as Rei removed the Earthshine that they had gotten from Leon. The Fairy Godmother inspected it with a frown.

"Oh my, this poor soul has become a summon gem." Ranma raised an eyebrow. "A summon gem?" He repeated. She nodded. "Yes. a summon gem is a soul who lost their world but refuses to give up. Now, Bippity-Boppity-Boo!" The gem became tiny stars which entered Rei's heart. "Now, you can summon him to battle whenever you need him." Rei grinned.

"Thank you."

"Oh, and before you three leave, remember to check with Cid at the house in this District." Merlin pointed out. They nodded and left. "Good luck child." The Fairy Godmother whispered, returning back to the carriage form.

Remembering the stairs that was by the door to the Second District, and the only house up there, the trio trotted up the stone stairs, still no signs of Heartless. And found the once vacant building was now all lit up. Shrugging, Rei pushed the door open and all three went inside.

Surprisingly, Cid, Yuffie, Aerith and Leon were all in there. Either sitting on the bed or leaning against the wall. "Hey there, how's everything going?" Yuffie asked cheerfully. Rei gave a wary smile. "Slow." He muttered.

"Have you guys heard of Maleficent? I hear she's in town." Said Cid. "Who's Maleficent?" Ranma questioned. "An evil sorcereress. She's the one who's been controlling the Heartless for the last nine years." Leon said coldly.

"She's not the one controlling them." Rei hissed. His pupils had dilated into slits, and for a second, an eerie red hue appeared, but it was gone in less than a millisecond. They glanced at him in shock.

"What are you talking about? Of course she's their leader!" Yuffie protested. Rei shook his head. "Fraid not." He said calmly. Yami grew suspicious. "Then, who is the one controlling them?" He asked sharply.

"Ansem."

Cue outburst in 5...4...3...2...1...

"WHAT?!"

Rei winced slightly, and rubbed his ears, which were ringing. "Do you mind? I'm not deaf you know!" He snapped. Aerith frowned. "But that's impossible. Ansem would never do that." She cried. Rei glared at her, eerie colored eyes flashing darkly.

"Not if he was consumed by the darkness. All he wants is eternal power and have darkness spread into the other worlds." He growled. "How is it you know this?" Leon asked suspiciously. Rei sighed before giving the man a dirty look. "Maybe because I met the guy?" He snapped. Leon redden slightly but did not say anything. This was unsettling for the gang.

"About traveling to more worlds, I've installed a Warp-G in your gummi." Cid said after a heavy pause rang in the air. Just as Rei was about to answer, the ground gave a tremendous lurch as a bell rang through out the air. "Sounds like it came from the Gizmo Shop." Yuffie said worriedly.

The trio exchanged worried looks. "We better go check this out." Ranma said softly. "You're right." Yami agreed. "Good luck you three." Aerith called as the trio ran out of the house. "They'll need it." Leon muttered.

The second they got outside, Rei raised Ultima over his head.

"THUNDAGA!" He yelled.

Bolts of thunder rained down and only Rei could hear the faint chime in the air. That meant the Gizmo shop would be up and running. Now to get there without being attacked by Heartless.

But how?

"The Gizmo Shop is in the Second District. How do we get there without being detected?" Yami asked curiously. "What we want is the bell on top of the building." Rei said quietly. He pushed the doors that would lead them back into the Second District open and they quickly rushed through and the doors slammed behind them.

Back in the First District, the Beybladers were uneasy. Not too long ago, Yuffie, Aerith and Leon had taken off for the Third District and hadn't returned. Coupled with the ground shaking and the bell ringing, it was enough to bring their fears and worries to life.

"Do you suppose they're alright Chief?" Tyson asked the younger boy worriedly. Kenny's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I don't know Tyson. I really don't know." He admitted. "We have to believe in them." Mariah said softly.

"If we believe in them, they can do anything." Lee nodded in agreement. "She's right. We just have to believe in Rei that he can win." He answered quietly. "We're with you all the way Rei." Oliver whispered, looking up at the starry sky. Unknowingly, a star winked out of existence.

They didn't have much time left before every world fell to the eternal darkness.

Rei frowned to himself as they came into the lower courtyard of the Second District. Ever since facing Clayton for the second time, he could feel the darkness within him growing at an alarming rate. What would happen when it would swallow him entirely? Would he destroy his friends?

He hoped not.

"Is that the Gizmo Shop Rei?" Ranma asked, dragging the teen out of his depressing thoughts. Rei snapped out of his trance and followed the martial artists' gaze. Ranma had pointed out the biggest building in the area which obviously at a large golden bell engraved on top. Rei nodded.

"Yes. We need to find the ladder that will get us up there. It should be on the second level outside, on the right of the building. Do you have a monster that can get us up there?" Rei asked of Yami who grew thoughtful. "Probably Silver Fang." He answered after awhile.

In a flash of yellow light, the beautiful silver wolf appeared. It panted slightly and licked Yami on the face, only simply smiled. "Silver Fang, do you think you could get us to the top of the Gizmo Shop?" He asked politely, pointing to their destination. Silver Fang looked up. He could do it and nodded, showing Yami he could do the trick. Yami's face lit up in a smile.

"He'll do it." He told the other two who grinned. Yami was the first to climb on the wolf's back, followed by Ranma then Rei taking up the rear. Ranma and Rei were surprised to find that Silver Fang's fur was soft as silk.

"Hang on tight." Yami called over his shoulder. Rei clung tightly to the soft fur as did Ranma. In two great big leaps, they were standing on the very top of the Gizmo Shop. Yami recalled Silver Fang and put the card back into his deck. "You can see the entire Second District from here." Ranma breathed.

"It's a magnificent view." Yami said softly.

Rei noted the boxes and crates blocking the entrance to the giant bell. "Could you guys help me move these things?" Rei called, slamming his body into the crates. Yami and Ranma quickly did the same and the crates gave way under their combined weight.

Rei walked forward and pulled the rope of the bell. With his sharp eyesight, Ranma gaped as the stone wall with flowers that was sitting in the fountain, the tiny bells decorating the fountain had lit up with bright blue light and the wall turned to reveal another picture. This one of flowers. Rei pulled the rope again and it shifted back to the flowers. Rei pulled it one last time and to the other two's shock, the wall turned over, revealing a large glowing keyhole.

"A keyhole." Yami said in awe.

"Come on, I need to seal it before any Heartless show up." Rei said grimily, before jumping down to the ground. Of course he landed without any problems. Ranma easily landed on the ground without problems because he was a martial artist. Yami had little difficulty because of his magic.

The second Rei took a step forward, he leapt back as a familiar adversary showed up. Much to Ranma and Yami's anger. All three recognized the huge purple metallic body with the glowing yellow eyes. "Guard Armor." Rei growled. And unfortunately, for them, Guard Armor was blocking them from reaching the keyhole. Yami quickly summoned the Dark Magician and Ranma powered up his body and his weapon. Yami shifted the staff and tensed, waiting for the first move to be taken. Rei gripped Ultima tightly, watching warily with the Scan visor activated.

"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami yelled. The Dark Magician raised his staff and sent out a massive blast of dark energy, forcing the robot to stumble back slightly. Rei frowned. Not even half of Guard Armor's health declined. His eyes grew wide. Then that meant...

Oh no.

Rei quickly cast the Aeroga spell. And just in time too. Yami gasped as Guard Armor took a step backwards, when he changed. His arms became his legs, and his legs became his arms. His body turned upside down and his head rolled about slightly, and a slit open, looking more like a mouth with a pair of yellow eyes glaring at them. Rei cursed under his breath.

Just great.

"What is that?!" Ranma screeched. "Opposite Armor. Basically a more powerful form of Guard Armor. Be careful, he has a new attack. A beam cannon he can fire from his torso." Rei warned, dodging the swipes coming from Opposite Armor's hands, er- - his legs.

While Ranma and Yami were busy dealing with the other body parts, Rei was flying through the air so he could attack the main torso. His keyblade sliced through some of the other arms and legs, but he kept aiming furious blows on the robot's main body part. "Oof!" Rei yelped in pain as he was slammed by a powerful beam of pinkish light into the benches in front of the hotel. He grunted, stood up and shook off his dizziness.

"Sonic Blade!" He yelled, becoming a golden blur as he slashed through the robotic body.

"Slash!" He cried.

For a second nothing really happened. But then Ranma and Yami smiled to themselves as all, but the main torso, dissenter grated into nothing, dropping bright green balls. Rei hastily told them to pick the balls up if they were drained of their physical energy. After picking up about ten, the two were fine again.

Rei glanced back at the actual body and grinned. Apparently, when he had been slicing Opposite Armor up, his had gotten some major hits in. And Opposite Armor's health bar had gone from orange to yellow to about half green. His grin grew. "I'm going to summon an old friend." He told the two curious teens. Rei closed his eyes and searched his heart for the one he needed and opened them.

"Courage!" He cried.

A ball of white light erupted from his heart, glowing on the tip of Ultima as he waved it in the shape of a keyhole. Silver light swirled around him, flying wildly about. Glowing underneath him in bright neon green light, was the _kanji_ character for white tiger.

"Driger!"

Out of the light, merged a huge white tiger. Ranma swallowed thickly at the tiger, but quickly berated himself that this was no time to be a coward. Yami thought the white tiger was a magnificent creature.

Driger looked like an ordinary white tiger, save for the fact that he reached up to Rei's waist in height, had golden armor around his shoulders, a golden helmet and a golden metallic tail. The white tiger had glittering green stripes instead of the usual black ones and liquid eyes locked onto Rei. Ranma swore the tiger grinned a toothy grin at Rei. But, he had to be imagining that.

Right?

Driger gave a mighty roar, making the duo step back in fear. Rei chuckled and leapt onto the back of his friend. "Let's do this Driger." He whispered. Driger nodded. With a war cry, the dynamic duo struck!

One to the bottom of the torso, another to the middle and the last one **_through_** it. Ranma and Yami gaped. Like before, Opposite Armor fell apart, each part fading into ice blue light as a pure crystallized heart flew into the air. Driger nuzzled Rei briefly before disappearing in a haze of green mist and re-entered Rei's skin.

Rei fell to one knee, breathing heavily. "At least he's gone." He said tiredly.

"Yep. Time to do your stuff Rei." Ranma said cheerfully. Rei smiled and stood up, pointing Ultima at the keyhole. Tiny gold stars swirled around the tip as the blue beam entered the keyhole. He grinned as the keyhole was sealed and surprisingly another gummi piece fell out. "Come on, we need to let the others know of the good news." Yami said eagerly.

"Mariah, could you please calm down. I'm sure they're fine." Enrique growled. For the last twenty minutes, Mariah kept pacing back and forth. She scowled, but sat down at a table at the café.

"Here they come!" Kevin cried, pointing forward. "Well?" Michael demanded. Rei grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Traverse Town has been sealed up. The Heartless won't threaten it." He said happily, before fainting.

"REI!" They cried.

_The sun shone brilliantly in the clear blue skies as a slight breeze brushed against the tropical trees of the paradise Destiny Islands. Two little boys, no older than five, stood outside a hidden cave entrance that was surrounded by bushes. The soft noise of falling water from the nearby waterfall could not bring them out of their uneasiness._

_The youngest had unruly cinnamon brown hair and large pale blue eyes. He simply wore a white tee-shirt, red shorts and yellow sandals. His companion looked to be about a year older with shoulder length silver hair and cat shape aquamarine eyes. He just wore a sleeveless yellow tee-shirt, bright blue shorts and dark blue sandals. He also wore black gloves. He grinned at the brown haired boy._

_"Come on Sora," He teased. "I dare you to go in." Sora shivered, looking at the entrance. Somehow, tendrils of dark mists were swirling around the cave hole. It felt like they were reaching out to him. _

_"I'm not sure Riku..." He whispered. _

_Riku's smile faded. What was wrong with him? He grabbed Sora's hand gently and urged him to follow. "I promise nothing bad will happen." He said soothingly. Sora looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Promise?" He pleaded. Riku smiled weakly. "I promise."_

_Riku dragged Sora towards the cave entrance when the black mists reached out and grabbed his ankles. Sora started struggling frantically. "Riku! Help!" He cried, reaching for his friend, who seemed to be out of reach. _

_"No!" Sora cried. "Don't go!"_

"Don't go!" Rei yelped, sitting up, eyes wide. He placed a hand over his chest, right where his heart was fluttering wildly. Still breathing heavily, he looked around. Right now, he was sitting on the canopy bed in the Red Room at the Hotel.

/Driger, do you know how I got here?/ He asked the tiger curiously.

Thank god you're alright Rei. I was worried when you passed out.Rei raised an eyebrow.

/I passed out?/ He asked incredulously. Rei felt Driger nod and he was surprised. /I must have depleted my energy completely./ He mused.

Driger frowned. Anyway, right after you fainted, Ranma and Yami brought you here. And that was two days ago.He explained. Rei's eyes widen. Two days ago?! A loud snore caught Rei's attention, and the key bearer looked over and smiled at the sight. Sleeping peacefully in two chairs next to the bed were Ranma and Yami. Both had fallen asleep and were leaning against each other.

And it was Ranma who had been snoring.

Rei chuckled softly. It was a silly sight. His soft laughter woke them up. "Mm?" Ranma's eyes flew open. "Rei, you're alright!" He said pleased. Yami's eyes fluttered open, revealing concern. "Are you alright now?" He asked worriedly. Rei gave a tiny smile and nodded. "Don't worry. I just used up all of my energy. I'm fine now."

To prove it, he got up slowly and stretched gracefully, cracking all of his joints. Ranma winced. "Doesn't that hurt?" He asked. Rei grinned lightly. "Nope." He said cheerfully. "The others have been waiting for you to wake." Yami said quietly. Rei's grin grew as he followed them back to the First District.

It had been two days since Rei, Ranma and Yami had taken out Opposite Armor and of Rei passing out. "Why did Rei pass out like that?" Tyson wondered out loud for the hundredth time.

"I don't know Tyson." Kenny snapped. This was getting really old. Lee looked up hearing a soft laugh and his eyes widen in shock. _Can it be?_ He wondered.

Coming around the corner of the Accessory Shop was Ranma, Yami and _Rei_. And all three were laughing softly. "R-Rei?" Mariah asked shakily. The older teen looked up and smiled warmly.

"Hey." He said softly.

The gang rushed up to him, asking questions all at the same time. Rei held up his hands, as if to fend off their questions. "Easy does it you guys!" He laughed. It was Kai who asked the important question.

"Why did you faint?" He asked simply. Rei gave a strange smile. "I simply used up too much energy. So it took two days for me to recover completely." He grinned widely. "Anyway, who's up for our next world?: He asked cheerfully. It was still the same. "Good luck and be careful!" Emily called as the group took off through the gates to the Gummi Ship.

Good luck indeed.

They'll need it.

_ "And how may I ask are you going to get rid of the key bearer?" Rasped Oogie Boogie. "And it better be better than last time." The spirit grumbled. Maleficent removed a tiny package from within the folds of her black gown and tossed it lightly towards the Arabian vizier. The man raised an eyebrow._

_"And what is this?" He growled. Maleficent grinned cruelly. Seeing that nasty little smile on her pale green skin, made the other Generals receive a chill up and down their spines. "Have an Air Soldier inject it into the boy and he'll be no problem at all." She purred. Captain Hook frowned, polishing his silver hooked hand over his silk jacket. "And how is that to help us?" the pirate demanded harshly. __"The liquid in the darts is from the dark world of the Heartless. Full of Heartless blood actually." She laughed a nasty little laugh. "One injection, then he becomes one of us."_

_"Forever."_

"AH-CHOO!" Rei sneezed loudly as the ship took off. "That's the fourth time you've sneezed. You're not catching a cold are ya Rei?" Lee asked softly. Rei shook his head. "No, just someone's talking about me, that's all." Rei muttered. About ten minutes later, the Gummi Ship hovered in front of a swirling mass of dark purplish black energy.

"What is that thing?" Kai asked. Yami frowned. "It seems to be some sort of vortex." He mused. "Maybe it leads to more worlds." Ranma suggested. Rei smiled. "Only one way to find out!" He cheered.

He took ahold of the controls and tilted forward ever so slightly and the ship lurched a tad as it went through. "Woah!" Rei yelped and pulled the controls back just in time as he barely avoided an energy beam from an enemy Heartless ship.

"That was close." Tyson breathed.

"I'll say." Max said quietly.

Rei bit his lips as he kept the Gummi Ship from being hit by energy beams from all the Heartless Ships. "Is that it, Rei?" Tyson asked as the ship automatically came to a halt. Behind them, on the main computer console, appeared a holographic image of the world. It looked like a desert with an Arabian palace on top and a giant lion head cave on the bottom. The gateway that would lead them onto the world, appeared in the ship. "You guys ready?" He asked. They nodded.

"Then let's do this."

The first thing they were greeted by was the blazing heat. All of them, minus Rei and Yami, were sweating heavily as they stepped into the streets of the odd looking bazaar. Ranma wiped the sweat from his brow and pouted at the two who weren't miserable in the heat.

"I hate you two." He grumbled. Rei chuckled. "Where is everyone? Shouldn't there be people out here?" Tyson asked. "You're right Tyson. Something doesn't feel right." Lee murmured. Rei whipped out Ultima and Ranma and Yami whipped out their ultimate weapons as well. About ten Shadows and an almost human looking Heartless appeared.

It was about the same height as Kenny, only with pale blue skin and glowing yellow eyes. They wore dark blue vests, baggy dark blue pants that were tied around the ankles, slightly curved shoes, gold bracelets around their wrists and a white turban was on their heads. There was even white bandages covering most of their face, except for their eyes. Rei scowled heavily, recognizing the breed.

"Bandits." He hissed.

One Bandit rushed forward, intending to cut off his head with its curved sword. Rei instantly brought up the Keyblade, blocking the attack that was aimed for his neck. He flipped over its head and quickly sliced it in half, effectively killing it. Yami used his Ookazi card, effectively taking out what was left of the Bandits and Ranma wiped out the Shadows with a blast of ki.

"Hmph."

The five could only stare in awe. Rei, Ranma and Yami had moved fast in killing the horde that had attacked. Ahead was the road to the Main Plaza. "Come on." Rei urged. They walked through the arc way and into another empty plaza. "Alright, this is getting a little old." Tyson said warily.

Hm.

Rei looked over to the left to see a hidden entrance. "I have a feeling we should go that way." He said suddenly. "What are you talking about?" Ranma asked. "Down that alley." Rei pointed to the left where Yami swore that boxes had been there a second ago. Lee shrugged. "I guess. I've learned to trust your instincts on this Rei." He said calmly, and followed his older friend down the worn out area.

It was very tiny and somewhat cramped with a bunch of crates off towards one corner. "Who's there?" Came a timid, yet sweet female voice. Rei tensed and turned sharply at the voice.

Out stepped a very pretty young woman in her late teens or early twenties. Her waist length black hair was tied back with sea blue green ribbons, tan skin and large chocolate eyes. She wore a bare mid-drift sea blue green top, sea blue green silk pants; similar to that of the pants of the Bandits, slightly curved up golden shoes, and large golden hoop earrings.

She spotted the Beybladers, one martial artist, and one ancient spirit standing there, each watching her curiously. "Hello there. I'm Jasmine. My father is the sultan of Agrabah." She introduced herself. "So, that makes you a princess." Said Ranma. "But he has been disposed by Jafar, who now controls the city." She continued sadly.

Rei growled low in his throat from hearing the Heartless General's name. "Jafar?" Ranma asked in confusion. Jasmine was surprised. "You haven't heard of him? He's the royal vizier. He's gained evil powers and has now seized Agrabah." She frowned. "He's desperately searching for something - - - something he calls the 'Keyhole'." She sighed heavily.

"Jafar caught me trying to escape, but he helped me." Rei raised an eyebrow. Even he could tell that Jasmine cared deeply for this savior of hers. "Who helped you?" Lee asked. "We were hiding nearby, but he left awhile ago to go check something...oh, I hope Aladdin is alright."

While Jasmine explained about Agrabah and the recent events, Rei was nervous. His Scan kept picking up brief bursts of darkness all around them. Something bad was gonna happen. And soon. What Rei failed to see was that an aerial Heartless, just out of reach from the Scan, held a tiny object in its claws.

Without warning, Rei felt an overwhelming pain in his right shoulder. His bluish white eyes traveled down and he cursed softly. Embedded deep within his shoulder was a shiny black arrow. Ranma tilted his head, wondering why Rei hadn't spoken in these past few moments.

"Rei?" He called.

The pig-tailed martial artist turned and his blue grey eyes widen in horror. "CHIKUSO!" He yelled. The gang, including Jasmine, whirled around and paled at the sight of Rei with an arrow in his shoulder. "How the hell did this happen?!" Tyson demanded. "Why don't you ask him?" Rei growled, the pain easily visible in his voice.

Him?

"I do believe he means...me...." Purred an evil voice. Jasmine shivered, she knew who it was. Standing over them on a higher up ledge, was the cruel vizier. "Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess. These rats simply won't do, you see. And especially the key bearer." Jasmine was confused.

"What are you talking about freak?" Kai sneered. Rei's eyes widen in realization. "You wouldn't dare!" He hissed. Jafar smirked and snapped his bony fingers.

Yep.

He would.

Black lightning cackled around the wound, causing Rei to roar in pain. A roar that sounded suspiciously like a certain White Tiger. He clutched his shoulder, whimpering in pain, he could barely make out the gleeful look in Jafar's eyes through his hazy gaze.

_Kairi..._ was the last thing he thought before darkness claimed him and he knew no more.

Jafar was still gleeful when Rei slumped to the ground, but froze as Rei slowly stood back up. Albeit unsteadily. With a grunt, he reached up and ripped out the arrow from his shoulder. Mariah made a face at the sight of the shimmering black blood that dripped from the arrow, which was now splashing onto the ground. Rei tossed it aside.

"What's happening?" Jasmine whimpered in fear. Red lightning began to cackle dangerously in the once clear blue skies. Tyson was simply stunned that black clouds could gather in such a short time. An eerie purplish black mist seemed to swirl lazily around Rei, and the Key Bearer finally looked up.

Even Jafar stumbled back, horror in his eyes.

Rei's eyes, once a unique shade of bluish white, was no more. Instead, an entirely new eye color glared out. One that made Jafar very uneasy.

Hellish blood red eyes.

Only one thing settled in Ranma's mind, as he watched his possessed friend warily. They were in big trouble.

Big time.

* * *

Uh-oh, what do you suppose happened to him? 


	11. Identity Revealed

A/N: Hm, seems the Generals just made the Heartless within Rei/Sora much more powerful. Now, the gang must bring back their friend and try and survive the Shadow's wrath.

blah= Driger to Rei

/blah/ = Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Don't own anything you'll recognize

**_Chapter 12_**__

"R-Rei?" Ranma asked weakly.

Those empty blood colored eyes eyed them emotionlessly. Yami glared at Jafar with utter loathing. Unknowingly, feeding the dark emotions in the changed Rei.

"What the hell did you do to him?!" He snarled. Jafar smirked. "He is now a Heartless. And it's time for you to be destroyed by your former friend." He mocked. "Destroy them!" He ordered. Those blood colored eyes flared with energy...and something else?

_{"No."}_ Came the raspy hiss from Rei's lips.

Jafar was furious.

"What did you say?" He asked coldly, his hands gripping his snake headed staff tightly. So tightly, his knuckles were turning white. Those ruby red eyes swerved upwards and Rei's lips twisted into a demonic grin, revealing slightly larger fangs.

_ {"You heard me human. I said no."}_ Rei rasped.

"How dare you." Jafar said angrily.

Rei raised an eyebrow. _{"Since you did release me, I should thank you."}_ He then grinned. _{"Then, how about your destruction?"}_

Say what?!

Rei's form blurred and he was standing behind Jafar, his grin growing more twisted. Jafar's shrewd onyx eyes traveled to the sword in Rei's hands. The sunlight reflected off of the black metal.

Ultima had also changed.

Blue was now black and gold was now silver. For some odd reason, white remained the same. Except, the key chain that hung from the tainted keyblade was the Heartless crest.

The Darkheart Keyblade.

That was it. Lee and Mariah couldn't take it any longer. With a quick grunt, they stood behind Rei, who was getting ready to land the final blow that would end Jafar's life for good. Slowly, the Shadow/Rei turned to face them and gave a low, throaty growl.

"This isn't like you Rei." Lee said softly. The Shadow merely tilted his head, as if he didn't understand. "You're no killer. And I would rather not see someone I consider a brother to kill someone. Even if the person deserves it." Lee continued. Mariah had tears trickling down her face.

"Don't do it Rei!" She cried, and latched onto him, hugging him tightly. Those glowing red eyes widen slightly. Lee could see confusing flashing in those hellish orbs. Was that fear and .... recognition? _{"M-Mariah?"}_ The Shadow/Rei rasped, confused. "You're our friend Rei, we want the real you. Not this demon." Mariah pleaded, looking up at him with red rimmed chocolate eyes.

Pain consumed him, and he fell to his knees, holding his head. Images of his life in the White Tiger Village and on Destiny Islands, kept flashing in his mind and mixing together. Until finally, he couldn't take the pain any more, and slipped into sweet unconsciousness.

As he slumped forward, an eerie silver light swirled around him, and through the light, everyone could see something happening. It appeared that Rei's body was actually taking on a **new** form. If that was possible. With a scowl, Jafar disappeared. When the light cleared, Lee and Mariah gasped.

"Well?" Max called from down below. Lee scratched his head. "I don't know how to say this..." He trailed off. "What? Is he okay?" Kevin asked in concern. Mariah peered over the side, her chocolate eyes were wide though. "Let's just say that Rei is...different now..."

Back in Traverse Town, the other beybladers were being introduced to the powerful wizard Merlin. "So, do you have a way for us to watch over Rei and the others?" Oliver questioned as they settled about the cozy hut. Merlin was thoughtful and then his eyes lit up. "I got it!" He squealed. He scurried off and returned not even five minutes later with a very large cauldron.

**SLAM**

It crashed heavily on the floor as the wizard dropped it. "And with a few magical words." He murmured and waved his black wand. Tiny gold sparks swirled in the clear liquid before an image appeared.

The image was that of when Rei had gotten hit by the Heartless arrow. The remaining teams watched; horrified, as the darkness in Rei took complete control. Kenny was just stunned that his friend could do such a terrible thing. "Your friends Lee and Mariah did a wise thing by their actions." Merlin said suddenly.

But seeing Rei change forms shocked all of them. Even Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith; who were there, was stunned. And continued to watch in hope that Rei would be alright.

With the help of Ranma and Yami, they managed to get an unconscious Rei into an abandon home that overlooked the plaza and palace. The two teams, and Bryan climbed up the pole, just as the two set Rei down on some cushions. "What happened to him?" Tyson whispered. Rei didn't even look the same anymore.

He was still the same height, but his skin complex was now more of a light golden tan. Spiky dark cinnamon hair framed a slightly round face, worn from fighting. Though, his clothing remained the same. Even his jewelry.

'Rei' groaned and his bluish white eyes fluttered open. "What happened?" He asked groggily, even his voice sounded different. It sounded softer and more sweeter than its usual raspy huskiness. "Check out your reflection." Bryan said coldly. Like the others, he was angry that Rei didn't divulge in this.

Confused, Rei glanced at himself in a reflected jar and his eyes widen. He was staring into his old face, his true self you might say. He glanced down to see his clothing remained the same.

Strange.

"Well?" Lee demanded. Rei winced. "I'm not even sure. And in case you're wondering, this is what I really look like." He added hastily, seeing their glares. "Then why did..." Kai trailed off, for once clueless. Rei smiled sadly. One that did not reach his eyes.

"I look like I was from China?" He finished. Kai nodded. "I really don't know. All I know is that when I was facing Ansem, I was thrown into your world looking like that." He muttered. "Not to mention I was eight again." He grumbled.

"Then may we be privileged to your real name?" Yami asked politely. Rei smiled a true smile.

"Yes. It's Sora." He said quietly.

"Sky. It suits you." Ranma mused, thinking of his pale bluish eyes. Sora stood upright, and brushed a lock of cinnamon hair from his eyes. "Alright, we should probably look for Aladdin." Said the key bearer. "Okay. But where should we go look?" Asked Tala.

Hm?

Sora tilted his head, hearing struggling. Curious, he looked around until he saw a carpet struggling under a heavy dresser. With a gentle smile and a push, the dresser had been moved. The carpet jumped up and down excitedly and flew off. "Was it heading for the dessert?" Ranma asked.

"I have a feeling that's where we'll find Aladdin." Lee said grimily. Sora nodded in agreement. The Key Master jumped out of the window and into the Main Street below. The others exchanged looks before following him. Down below, there wasn't any sights of Bandits. So far, everything was going great. And that itself was very suspicious.

They trudged past the empty stalls and headed out to the dessert. There, hovering next to that carpet Sora had freed, was a Rest Point. "I think it wants to take us to Aladdin." Ranma mused out loud. Sora blinked.

"I think you're right." He said slowly. He faced the carpet. "Can you take us to Aladdin?" He asked gently.

The carpet seemed to nodded and jumped up and down. It lied down flat, and waited for them to climb on. Sora was first, followed by Ranma then Yami. Sora glanced down to the others. "You guys keep an eye out on Agrabah and make sure Jafar doesn't do anything stupid." He ordered. Lee nodded. "Good luck man." Sora grinned and the carpet flew off.

Ranma eyed Sora carefully as the magical carpet flew them out into the dessert. Everything seemed okay. "You okay about all of this Sora?" He asked curiously. Sora sighed. "There are certain rules I have to follow, and I don't like them at all." He grumbled. Yami raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Like what?" He asked.

Sora sighed again. "First of all, I can't tell anyone where I'm from; which is why I lied, or chaos and destruction will follow. Above all else, do not meddle in other world affairs." He said monotonous, as if reciting it by memory. And he probably was!

"And who told you that?" Ranma asked. "Donald." Was all he received as an answer. Ranma felt guilty as he recalled what Sora had told Kairi back in Traverse Town about his three friends fates among the Heartless.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Sora was surprised. "What are you sorry about?" He questioned. Ranma flushed. "Just that I made you remember your friends." He said sheepishly.

For some reason, Sora started laughing. "What's so funny?" The martial artist asked in confusion. Sora waved his hand. "It's nothing. Except Donald would always tell Goofy the exact same thing at least twenty times a day." He giggled. "Let's just focus on getting to Aladdin." Yami's eyes narrowed darkly. "For I have a feeling he's in big trouble." He said grimily. Sora nodded. "I believe you are right." He agreed.

Just what where they getting themselves into?

Sora activated Scan. He looked through the black visor and cursed softly in Chinese. "Aladdin's in trouble, we gotta help him!" He yelled, jumping off, and landed easily in the soft sand below. They jumped off as well.

"SONIC BLADE!" Sora yelled, becoming a red and gold blur as he zipped back and forth between Bandits.

"SLASH!" He brought the Keyblade down in a slashing motion and ice blue energy washed over the area in a web of lightning. Ranma was amazed. He didn't think anyone could move _that_ fast. Trapped in a sand dune was a young man in his early twenties with unruly black hair, dark skin and large chocolate eyes. He just wore a purple vest and by the looks of it, a tatter pair of white cloth pants.

Yami took out a monster card and held it over his head and yelled, "I summon the Summoned Skull!" In a flash of yellow light, the demonic creature appeared. It's icy aquamarine eyes glowed at the Bandits with an eerie light.

Summoned Skull

ATK/2500

DEF/1200

"Summoned Skull," Yami began. "Use your lightning strike!" He ordered. The demon nodded and raised its clawed hands to the skies, which were darkening with the arrival of black storm clouds. Growling, bright yellow lightning flew into its hands and the demon threw the blast at the remaining Bandits. They exploded into dust and crystallized hearts flew off.

Yami recalled the Summoned Skull and with Sora's help, pulled Aladdin from the deep sand dune. Suddenly, twice as many Bandits appeared surrounded them. "Not again!" Ranma cried. Aladdin pulled out a small golden lamp from his pants and held it out.

"Genie, get rid of these guys!" He shouted. That was when a bright blue humanoid spirit appeared. "Wish number one, coming right up!" With a wave of his hand, the Bandits vanished in a puff of purplish pink smoke.

After Sora explained the recent events, Aladdin was quiet. "I see...Thanks, Sora." Sora frowned. "Aladdin, what are you doing out here?" He asked slowly. Aladdin grinned and rubbed the back of his neck eagerly.

"Same old stuff. Hunting legendary treasure." Ranma was amused by his eagerness. _He defiantly wouldn't get along with pop's. Too damn innocent._ He thought. "Just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders. I found that magic carpet," At this, the purple carpet Sora freed earlier jumped up and down happily. Aladdin laughed at its antics.

"And of course this lamp. Legend has it that whoever holds the lamp can summon the - -" He was cut off abruptly by the playful blue spirit.

"Please, kid, leave the intros to a professional. The one and only GENIE OF THE LAMP!" Sora giggled. "Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and have your dearest wishes granted." He explained. Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Today's winner is...Aladdin! Congratulations!" Yami was interested in the wishes about the lamp. "Any wish?" He asked curiously.

"Patience, my fine, spiritual friend! Any three wishes," He held out his fingers in the number three position. "A one wish, a two wish, and a three wish. Then I make like a banana and split." Genie joked, onyx eyes playful and laughing. "Our lucky winner made his first wish - - and let me tell you, what a doozy that wish was - - so he has two left." He paused. "So, master, what'll you have for wish number two?"

Aladdin smiled slowly. "How about making me a fabously wealthy prince?" He suggested. Genie grinned. "Ooh! Money! Royalty! Fame! Why didn't I think of that?" The spirit teased. "Okay, you asked for it. A hundred servants and a hundred camels loaded with gold!" He began to wiggle his fingers excitedly. "Just say the word and I'll deliver it in 30 minutes or less, or your meals free. Hey, I'll even throw in a cappuccino!"

Aladdin frowned in uneasiness. "No, thanks." He said sheepishly, waving his hands. Genie shrugged.

"Okay."

Aladdin cast a look in the direction of Agrabah with an unreadable look on his face. "I think I'll put that on hold until we reach Agrabah." Ranma was curious. "Why a prince?" He asked. Aladdin blushed, the dark red flush spreading across his darken skin. Which was quite a feat for one with such skin.

"You see, there's this girl in Agrabah named Jasmine. But she's a princess, and I'm...Aw, she could never fall for a guy like me." He said glumly. The trio exchanged uneasy looks.

"Princess?" Said Yami.

"Jasmine?" Ranma repeated.

Sora frowned. "Oh, that's right! She's in trouble, Aladdin!" Aladdin's chocolate eyes grew wide with shock. "What? Well, come on, let's get going!" He urged. On the way back, the group, now five, were lost in the midst of discussions. Genie smiled as he stretched out in the fresh air.

"Ah, fresh air! The great outdoors!" He said happily. Sora raised an eyebrow at his antics. "I guess you don't get out much, ne?" He asked lightly. "Comes with the job." Genie said bitterly. "Phenomical cosmic powers. Itty-bitty living space." He sighed. "It's always three wishes, then back to my portable prison. I'm lucky to see the light of day every century or two..." He sounded very sad.

From up front, Aladdin gave a tiny smile. "Say, Genie, what if I use my last wish to set you free from that lamp?" He said softly. "What do you think?" Hope filled the spirit. "You'd do that?" He asked, stunned. Aladdin grinned. "Genie, it's a promise. After we help Jasmine." He said with determination.

The second they landed in Agrabah, the group noted that something was very wrong. "It's quiet." Aladdin said uneasily. "A little too quiet." Sora growled, gripping Ultima tightly. "Where are the others?" Ranma asked worriedly. "Sora!" Hissed a quiet voice. Sora looked up sharply. Bluish white met crimson mocha.

It's Kai. And you're right. Something doesn't feel right.Driger said coolly. Sora nodded in agreement and gestured for the others to follow. They found the missing Beybladers in the alley and much to Sora's anger, Jafar as well. "Setting your sights a little high, aren't you, boy?" Jafar sneered. For a second, those bluish eyes flashed a hellish red, as the Key Bearer glared at the vizier.

"Back to your hole, street rat." Jafar sneered, eyeing Aladdin as if he was lower than dirt. "I will not allow you to trouble the princess any more." Aladdin felt his heart break at the sight of a fearful Jasmine standing meekly behind the older man.

"Jasmine!" He cried, pain echoing in his voice. Jasmine looked down in sadness. "I'm so sorry Aladdin." She whispered. Aladdin was desperate to help her in any way.

"Genie, help Jasmine. Please!" He cried. The blue spirit popped up behind the surprised girl and picked her up very gently. "One wish left! You're making this really easy, you know." Genie mused. Jafar suddenly smirked and Sora got a bad feeling in his stomach.

"So sorry, boy. I'm afraid your second wish has been denied." He sneered. Aladdin gasped and his eyes narrowed in anger, as Iago, Jafar's pet parrot, dropped the golden lamp, into the vizier's waiting hands. Genie grew sad. "I'm sorry, Al." And vanished in a poof of blue smoke. Jasmine was dropped into one of the pink pots that were in the alley. "And now, I bid you all farewell. Attack!" And he vanished into the shadows.

Every pink pot was coming together to form a new monster. Sora swore loudly. "This is not good!" He yelled, casting Aeroga on everyone, shielding them from fatal attacks. Ranma tried his _ki_ but was stunned when it failed. "What gives?!" He demanded angrily. "None of my attacks are working on it!" Sora grew thoughtful. _How to get rid of it? _He wondered. Use me Sora. I am dying to introduce it to my claws.Driger urged.

Sora was silent. /Are you sure you want to do this?/ He asked carefully. Driger nodded. Of course. This is my decision. I want to help.Sora nodded, and looked up. "Guys, stand back." He ordered. "What?! Why?" Yami demanded using his Mirror Force trap card. "I'm gonna summon an old friend to help us."

At his mysterious words, the Beyblader's were interested.

Who was he talking about?

Sora stood straight up and to everyone's shock, a ball of white light left his heart. It shone brilliantly like a star. He gripped it tightly in his free hand.

"Courage!" He cried.

"Give me strength!" The gang felt a warmth settle in their hearts as Sora brought Ultima forward.

"Driger!" This shocked the Beybladers. The powerful white tiger sacred spirit was coming to their aid?!

Sora dragged Ultima on the ground in a circle, as the circle was formed, neon green light, glowing brightly as the sun, started flashing underneath his feet. Mixed into the circle was a _kanji_ character for the white tiger. Sora ended the circle in the North point and pointed forward. A swirling mass of silvery green energy formed. Lee winced as a tremendous roar was heard from the other side.

Leaping from the energy was a magnificent white tiger with shiny neon green stripes. Golden armor decorated its tail, head and shoulder blades. It's yellow eyes glowed serenely. Sora reached out a hand and the tiger nuzzled its muzzle in his hand, purring loudly.

Sora smiled. "Welcome back to the real world Driger." He said proudly.

If it was possible, Tyson thought he saw the tiger was grinning. Aladdin was amazed by the sheer power Sora and Driger were showing.

Sora leapt onto the tiger's back, as if he had done it a million times, and the Beybladers had the funny feeling he had, and grin nastily at the now trembling monstrous Heartless called Pot Centipede. "Let's do this Driger." He whispered. _{As you wish my friend.}_ Echoed a deep voice in their minds.

Tyson bit his lips. Did Driger just speak? Out loud? Was he the only one not freaked out by this?! He glanced towards the others and realized they, too, were just as stunned as he was. Sora focused all of his magic into this attack. What he didn't see was the nearly bright silver aura surrounding him and Driger as the duo became a silvery green blur. When that blur vanished entirely. "Where did they go?" Gary asked shakily. Kai was stunned at the sheer speed.

"They're going so fast that they appear invisible to the human eye." He breathed in awe. Ranma frowned.

"Yeah, but they should still be making noise." He pointed out dryly. Kai frowned. "I don't know how they're doing it. But I would like to learn." He said in honesty. Sora, still on Driger, reappeared behind the still Pot Centipede. For a second, nothing happened then the Pot Centipede burst into dust as an icy blue heart left its body. But Jasmine was nowhere to be found.

Aladdin was devastated. "Jasmine!" He moaned. "Why do I get the feeling this will end in the desert?" Ranma muttered to himself. "Then the desert we will go." Aladdin said grimily. "And this time, we're coming too." Lee insisted. Sora raised an eyebrow. "Fine." He muttered.

Now, let's save Jasmine!

_It was in the chambers of Hallow Bastion that the remaining generals watched Sora and his friends head towards the Cave of Wonders, hoping to reach Jasmine in time before anything else could happen._

_"That brat's powers are growing each passing minute." Maleficent growled. "He must be destroyed before they grow too great." She hissed venomously. "Jafar will fail. And when that brat enters my domain, I won't fail like last time." Snorted Ursula. Maleficent's cruel eyes watched the Key Bearer with pure hatred. "Soon boy, you'll fail and you will die..."_

The powerful looking white tiger locked eyes with Sora, and no one noticed the ever so slight nod between the two friends. But they did stumble back in shock as Driger digitized himself into tiny silver and green stars and entered Sora's heart. Sora smiled as he felt Driger snuggle warmly in his chest.

"Let's go to the Cave of Wonders and save Jasmine." He said quietly. Aladdin nodded, still amazed by the bit beast. Carpet flew up to them, letting them on. All but Sora climbed on. Yami glanced at the Key Master in confusion.

"Aren't you coming?" He questioned. Sora grinned widely as he began to float _above_ the ground, much to the gang's shock. "H-how?" Ranma stuttered. "Hey, I'm allowed to have a few secrets, aren't I?" He teased. "Don't worry. I'll be able to keep up." He explained hastily, seeing their faces.

With a nod, the carpet took off, and still smiling, a bright silver aura flared around Sora as he blasted off into the air after them. With the wind whipping at their hair, Bryan couldn't help but wonder if Sora was able to keep up with them. Well, he got his answer right away. Surrounded by silvery flames, and keeping at an even pace next to them in the air, was Sora himself. He gave a low whistle, much to the Key Bearer's embarrassment.

"I'm impressed Sora." He mused. Sora's cheeks flushed a deep red. "Whatever pale boy. See if you guys can keep up with this." He snorted and with a flash of even brighter silver light, he shot off at an alarming rate.

Bryan knew his eyes were the size of dinner plates at the sheer speed that Sora had just revealed. "Was that silver blur really Sora?" Ranma breathed. Hell, he couldn't even see Sora. It was just a barely noticeable blur. Bryan nodded dumbly. "Uh-huh." Was all he could say. Aladdin grinned, recognizing the challenge in it. "Let's move carpet." He whispered.

The beyblader's, Ranma and Yami held on for dear life as the magic carpet's speed took it up a notch and they arrived behind Sora only by five minutes. And they arrived just in time too, to help Sora face a bunch of Bandits.

Sora grinned nastily as he twirled Ultima and got into a battle stance. Ranma brought forward his Save the King shield and held in front of him protectively. Yami twirled his Save the Queen staff just as cockily as Sora had done. Aladdin gripped his curved sword tightly, ready to fight as the Beybladers readied their beyblades. The bit beasts were aching for a battle.

"WIND!" Sora roared out.

A barrier of white mist surrounded all of them, and the curved swords of the Bandits not only bounced off of them, but was sent flying back to their owners. Ranma bashed his shield over the head of a Bandit and relished as it burst into dust. "Fire!" Yami yelled, sending rapid blasts of mini fire balls, which kept the Bandits dancing. Each trying hard not to get burned.

"Go Galleon!" Lee yelled as his black lion raced across the sand dunes, its fangs ripping through many of the now screeching Bandits. Sora looked up sharply as the ground rumbled beneath them and a huge stone lion's head rose from within the sand. He cursed as he realized that its eyes were glowing a dark purplish black light. That only meant one thing.

The Heartless were controlling it.

He jumped high into the air and glided over the Heartless and his fighting friends and landed with ease behind the stone lion's head. _I hope I'm right about this,_ he thought sickly. If it didn't work...he didn't even want to think of the consequences. Kai smirked to himself as he watched Dranzer rip another Bandit apart, its black blood staining the beautiful phoenix's talons, when he realized something.

Where was Sora?

"Guys, where's Sora?" He hissed. "Sora? Sora!" Ranma called frantically. "There he is!" Tyson cried, pointing to the figure behind the stone head.

Sora reached up with a gloved hand and his fingers brushed against the cold rock and he slowly closed his eyes. Bright silver light flared all around him. It licked about his body like fire. The light began to drain towards his hand, which slowly spread over the massive structure.

"Argh, it's too bright." Lee hissed, shielding his eyes as the entire area was engulfed by the blinding light. They could even hear the screeches of pain from the Bandits around them.

When the light cleared and they could fully see again, the eyes of the Cave of Wonders were now a soft golden yellow. And Aladdin knew that the Guardian was back to normal. However, Sora fell to his knees, his skin had taken on an ashen form and he was gasping for air. "Sora!" Tyson cried, running towards his friend.

Lee helped Sora to a sitting position. "What was that, that you just did?" He asked in amazement. Sora gave a weak smile. "I just purified the Guardian that's all..." He said sleepily. It had required every bit of magic that he had. And currently right now, he was very weak. With trembling hands, he reached in to his pocket and pulled out a tiny vial of glittering liquid. Sighing, he tossed it into the air.

Soft bluish green bubbles splashed around him as well as pulsing yellow flower petals rained down on him. He felt his magic and health returned to normal levels and he felt even stronger than before.

Heh.

He managed to stand up and shook his head to clear away the last of his tiredness and smiled at his worried friends. "Don't worry, I'm fine." He told them. Ranma sighed with relief, he had been worried there for a minute.

Sora frowned as he glanced towards the now purified Guardian. Lee frowned when he noticed his friend's agitation. "Is something wrong?" He asked curiously. "We're going straight to Jafar." Sora growled deeply in his throat. "Come on." He urged them to follow him.

Jafar smirked down at the unconscious Arabian princess. _Soon we can throw all of these pathetic worlds into eternal darkness just as we planned so long ago._ He thought with relish. Then his eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. _Until that brat came along. If it hadn't been for him, we would've succeeded,_ then he chuckled darkly. _Well, after today he won't live to see the final door opening._ His chuckles grew into full blown gales of insane laughter.

"Gee, I must've missed something." Mused a sarcastic voice. Furious, the vizier whirled around to see a smirking Sora standing there. Sora's arms were crossed over his chest, his blue eyes were like chips of ice as strands of cinnamon hair fell over them. Behind him, were the other Beyblader's, Ranma, Yami and Aladdin.

"Jafar, let Jasmine go!" Aladdin yelled angrily. Jafar's lips twisted into a sneer.

"Not a chance," He mocked. "You see, she's a princess - - one of seven who somehow hold the key to opening the door." Sora's blue eyes grew even colder, if that was possible.

"Open..." Ranma trailed off.

"...the door?" Yami finished in confusion.

Lee's eyes locked onto the giant keyhole that was embedded in the wall behind the vizier higher up on the ledge in front of them.

"But you fools won't live to see what's beyond it." In his hands was the lamp, Aladdin paled. "Genie! My second wish. Crush them!" He shrieked. Aladdin backed up slightly, eyes wide with fear. "Genie, no!" He cried. Genie sighed sadly. "Sorry Al. The one with the lamp calls the shots. I don't have a choice." He whispered.

Sora suddenly leapt away from the middle of the large cavern, just as an ice storm began brewing there. The others barely managed to dodge as well.

"WIND!" Sora yelled, letting the barrier of mist to surround his friends as he took to the air and flew after Jafar, who by the way, was stunned to see him flying. "Since when could you fly?!" He demanded as he blocked a killing blow from Sora's Keyblade with his staff. Flying was only capable in Captain Hook's domain.

Sora grinned. "Life's just full of surprises, wouldn't you agree?" He purred. Unknowingly, an eerie red light began to fill up his icy blue eyes. A bright silver aura of magic flared up around him while a blood red one flared up around Jafar. This time, the two would go all out.

"It's time to end this Key Bearer!" Jafar snarled, and sent out a massive beam of fire from his snake headed staff's eyes. "I agree!" Sora roared as he powered up for one of his most devastating attacks. Everyone, even Genie, stopped their fighting to watch in amazement. Much to Jafar's horror, he realized he was in trouble.

Big time.

Sora held out his hands, almost as if he was being bound to something, and rose into the air, a thin ice blue aura around him and Ultima. Purplish mist swirled around him lazily as he grinned cockily at the vizier. The ground around them lit up with the same light that was around Sora, and washed over the area, sending huge beams of energy rising into the air, and surging through Jafar's thin body.

The older man shrieked with pain as the bolts of energy electrocuted him from the inside out. Sora slowly floated back down, the aura and mist fading as he did so. The bolts of energy eventually died down. Jafar was left kneeling, one hand clutching his bleeding shoulder. He glared at the smirking teenager. "Damn it. Since when did you get this powerful?" He hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ansem...." Was all Sora whispered, but Jafar heard and his eyes widen in terror. _This boy has fought the creator of the Heartless?_ He thought fearfully. And if Sora had been tainted by the one who had created the ultimate darkness, then Sora was truly beyond his league. He backed up slowly and the ground beneath him crumbled.

"Genie!" He hissed. "My final wish! I want you to make me an all-powerful genie!" Sora swore colorfully in several languages as Genie pointed his finger at Jafar, who was surrounded by bluish smoke before he vanished into the hole that now occupied the middle of the cavern.

Aladdin inspected the unconscious girl. "I think she only passed out." He said thoughtfully. "We gotta go after Jafar first." Sora nodded and dove in after Jafar. With a grim look of determination, Aladdin followed. And eventually by the others into the lava pit below.

Ranma's eyes traveled upward as the huge red spirit loomed over them with a maniacal grin. "This doesn't look good." He mumbled. Yami nodded slowly. Sora's eyes locked onto the black lamp being held by the annoying red parrot that was Iago; Jafar's companion. He grinned. "Too easy." He muttered, blurring.

Genie Jafar was not pleased as he threw massive fire balls the size of meteors at him, but Sora easily leapt over and brought the Ultima Keyblade down on Iago and the lamp.

Hard.

It was over in less than a nano second as Kenny would say.

Sora sweat dropped as Iago plunged to the lava pit...with Jafar's lamp. Jafar screeched in terror as he faded away. But, they weren't out of trouble yet. Everything was beginning to crumble around them.

"Adios Jafar." Sora sneered. "Jasmine? Jasmine!" Aladdin wailed. "Whoa, we'd better get out of here!" Ranma cried as a rock from above nearly crashed on his head. "Jasmine!" Aladdin called again. "Let's move before we're history!" Tyson yelled.

About an hour later, they were sitting comfortably in Aladdin's home. "So, Jasmine's no longer in Agrabah." He mourned. "Sora, let's go find her." Sora frowned. "Sorry. I can't take you with me." He said quietly. Aladdin was stunned. "Wh-Why not?" He stuttered.

"I sure wish we could..." Ranma trailed off. Sora shook his head. "But we can't. If we take him to another world, we'll be meddling with that world's affairs." He scowled heavily at that rule. "Aladdin, we'll find Jasmine. I promise." He said gently to the sadden young man. Genie frowned, feeling sorry for the poor boy.

"Uh, earth to Al. Hello? You still have one more wish left." He reminded. "Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you." He prodded gently. Aladdin sighed. "I...I wish...for your freedom Genie."

Sora smiled. /He did the right thing./ He told the curious tiger spirit. Somehow I think you're right.Driger mused. Bluish smoke swirled around Genie as his spiritual body gave way to legs. The spirit of the former gold lamp was stunned. "Al!" Genie said in shock. Aladdin gave a sad smile. "A deal's a deal, Genie. Now you can go anywhere you want. You're your own master. But, if you can, it'd be great if you could go along with and help Sora find Jasmine." He whispered.

Genie crossed his arms and turned away. "Sorry, Al. I'm done taking orders from others. But...A favor, now that's entirely different." Sora chuckled. "I guess I could give that a try. After all, we're pals, right, Al?" He asked. Aladdin laughed weakly. "Genie..." He said tenderly. "Just leave it to me!" Genie cheered.

Aladdin blinked before he took something from his pocket and tossed it to Sora. "Somehow I have a feeling that might come in handy." Sora looked down at it. It was a golden lamp charm. He grinned. It was the Three Wishes keychain.

"Good luck Sora." Aladdin whispered as Sora and his friends returned to the gummi ship for their next adventure. As they prepared to leave, Sora could only think of one thing:

Prepare yourselves Generals...

You're next!

* * *

Hm, seems Rei is now back to being Sora once more. And it would also appear that he got the Shadow within him under control. For now. But, how long can he keep it up? 


	12. Atlantica and a Revival

A/N: Alright, now the gang is in Atlantica. And it's a doozy of a world.

blahDriger to Rei

/blah/ Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, save for the Darkheart Keyblade. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 11_**__

Atlantica

They left Agrabah about three days ago and were coming up to their fifth world. Sora brought the Gummi Ship to a halt and the holographic image of the world appeared on the main computer screen. It looked like a giant black rock with a hole in the middle, and you could see the ocean within the rock. And was that a gold palace in there?

"Okay, guys," Sora began. "Prepare to land." Eleven pairs of eyes widen in horror. "Land where?!" Mariah asked shrilly. "In the sea? We'll drown!" Kevin yelled. Sora smiled at them. "Not with my magic we won't!" He said cheerfully. The mirror that would lead as a gateway to the world, appeared behind them. With a smile, Sora leapt through. Hesitating, the others slowly followed. Albeit reluctantly.

Sora dove right through the rock and into the cool refreshing ocean water. He heard a splash and turned to see the others arriving. Sora started to snicker as he realized what his magic had turned them into.

Mer-folk.

The Beyblader's were in their respective bit beast color, Ranma's fins were an icy shade of blue, and Yami a dark purplish black. Probably represented his true magic. Sora glanced down to see that his fins were a dark midnight blue, almost black. And they shimmered like diamonds.

"Cool." Said Tyson.

Sora perked up, a sound reaching his heighten hearing. His bluish white eyes widen slightly as a he saw a young female mermaid swimming up to them. She had long blood red hair and warm sapphire eyes. He noted the purple sea shells she wore across her breasts. And that her fins were a lime green. Swimming frantically to catch up, was a tiny red crab. "Come on, Sebastian." She called in a sweet, musical voice.

"Ariel, wait!" It cried in a Jamaican voice? "Slow down! Don't leave me behind!" Sora tensed, no one was supposed to know about them. Things were about to get really complicated.

"Relax, Sebastian." Ariel said calmly. "They don't look like one of them. Right Flounder?" She asked. A small yellow and blue stripped guppie peeked from around her. "I don't know. There's something weird about them." It said in a childish voice. Ranma sweat dropped. "What do you mean?" He asked uneasily.

Ariel frowned as she circled them. "They do seem. . . a little different. where are you from?" She asked curiously. Sora chose to answer, before any of the others made a fool of themselves. "We're from kind of far away. And we're not really used to these waters." He lied, using the exact same lie he used years before.

Ariel then smiled warmly. "Oh, I see. In that case . . . Sebastian can show you how we swim around here." She gestured to the crab. Sebastian pouted. "Ariel, King Triton will not like this!" He said angrily. Ariel waved him off. "Oh don't worry." She scolded.

Since Sora remembered his lessons from his first arrival to Atlantica, he chose to sit out as Sebastian instructed the other fighters on how to swim through the rough and gentle currents. Ariel was curious on why Sora was not joining in. And she voiced this out loud. Sora's cheeks took on a light pink hue. "Er - - I rather not talk about it." He said hastily. Pretty soon, everyone got the hang of swimming in the currents.

Sebastian smiled. The first time he did around them actually. "Good job." He sounded pleased. "Now, let's move on to self defense." He called out. Sora froze, sensing a foreboding feeling in his heart, he summoned the Kingdom Keyblade, and for some reason, he attached the Three Wishes Keychain to it. Yami took in the details of the new keyblade. The handles were two blue gold fishes that met at the top, a dark blue grip to hold it, the blade itself was long and curved at the top. Of course the blade was pure gold itself. And hanging from the chain was the tiny gold lamp charm Aladdin had given to Sora right before they left.

The Three Wishes Keyblade.

"It's almost impossible for the enemy to deflect it." He explained, at their curious looks. "But, why did you bring it out and not Ultima?" Yami wanted to know. Sora sighed. "Although Ultima is my most powerful weapon, Three Wishes magic can help us in this domain. Not to mention it increases my strength." Sora muttered the last part.

"But why did you bring out the Keyblade?" Kai demanded sharply. Sora scowled, revealing his fangs. "Because we're about to be attack by Heartless!" He snapped.

And Sora was right.

Swimming at them at an alarming rate were three larger than normal jelly-fish like creatures. Only these had round black heads inside the mass of goop and glowing yellow eyes. Also, the Heartless crest was pulsing on their bodies. Sora activated Scan and frowned. "Those are Sea Neons. Their one major weakness happens to be thunder magic." Sora recited as the information filled his mind. He and Yami exchanged looks as they raised their respective weapon over their heads and shouted at the same time:

"THUNDER/THUNDAGA!"

About six small bolts of lightning, and twenty huge bolts rained down, and ripped the Sea Neons into nothing. And crystallized hearts flew off. "Those creatures chased us here." Said Ariel. That was when Sebastian got an horrible idea. "Oh no!" He cried. "Those monsters might be heading for the palace, too!" Sora glanced towards Ranma, Yami and the Beybladers, and gave a curt nod. They would help.

"We'd better head back right away." Ariel said worriedly. "But, what if we run into more of them on our way back?" Flounder whined. Ariel sighed before turning to the strangers. "I'm sorry, but we need your help. Please come to the palace with us." She then pointed to the gold trident markings on the rocky walls.

"The trident markers on the walls point the way there. We won't get lost as long as we follow them. Okay then, let's get going."

As they swam off, Sora couldn't help but get a feeling that things were about to go from bad to worse.

He didn't realize how right he was.

_Maleficent was watching all of this through an enchanted mirror. "Hm, how to destroy that insolent brat..." The evil witch then recalled that Sora refused to fight his friends. Kairi would be useless as she was needed in the plan. But, what about the boy Riku? Grinning, she snapped her fingers, and a seemingly sleeping teen around nineteen, appeared on the floor behind her._

_Silver hair framed the lightly tan face as cat shape eyes were closed. She peered closer and saw his chest was still moving. Despite the fact he had no heart._

_It was Riku._

_From the folds of her robes, she brought out a pure black crystallized heart. It was pulsing with pure dark energy and gave off the aura of high level Heartless. She let it hover in the air, before it sank into Riku's chest. The teen moaned in pain before his eyes flew open. They were no longer their beautiful aquamarine color. Instead . . . _

_Glowing red ones peered out._

_She began to laugh out loud. It was a high-pitched cold laughter. And would send chills down anyone's spine._

_"Prepare Keymaster, to be destroyed by the ones you cherish most."_

The second they swam into the Undersea Valley, Sora was filled with an overwhelming sense of coldness. He shivered violently, and Lee caught this. As did the other White Tigers. "Are you okay?" Lee asked quietly, swimming next to Sora who was still shivering. "It felt like someone just walked over my grave." He said uneasily.

That can't be good.

Max saw the trident pointing to a medium sized hole in the wall across from them. "Is that the way to the palace?" He asked, pointing out the hole. Ariel blinked before nodding. "Yes. I just hope that daddy is okay." She whispered. With a scowl, Sora swam further ahead and reached the entrance before everyone else.

Strange.

They went through the entrance and in the distance, Bryan could make out the golden palace that was Atlantica. Unfortunately, they were not alone.

"We got company!" Gary yelled. Sora summoned Three Wishes, Ranma Save the King and Yami Save the Queen. Some of the Heartless were indeed Sea Neons. But, there were three more kinds as well.

One looked like a giant blue angel fish with glowing yellow eyes. And of course, it had the Heartless crest on its chest. And attached to its stomach was a scuba gear like creature. Its head was like a torpedo, with an opening on the front and yellow eyes. It had a slim green body, claws for hands and webbed feet. It was also waving a large spear around. Not to mention they also had to deal with the ghost like creatures with huge claws.

Sora grimaced. "The fish is an Aquatank and what's attached to its stomach is a bunch of Screwdrivers." He paused. "The Screwdrivers are incredibly fast and I'd watch out for those spears of theirs." He added. "And the ghost is a Search Ghost. Just watch out for their claws. Rather painful."

"Spiral Wave!" Ariel started spinning her body and slammed into the Aquatanks, sending them back. "Thunder!" Yami yelled. Small bolts of thunder quickly took care of the Screwdrivers that had been ready to attack the Bladebreakers. Sora pointed Three Wishes at the Aquatanks and said one word: "GRAVIGA!" He roared out. The Aquatanks didn't have any time to move or attack as the balls of dark energy crushed them. And the pure crystallized hearts flew off.

Sora looked up and his eyes widen. "Damn it!" He yelled. Ranma looked around wildly, searching for what made Sora yell and then he saw it. About fifty more Screwdrivers were swimming towards them. "Damn." Was all he said. "Aw nuts." Said Tyson, seeing the army of Heartless behind them.

"Move!" Sora screamed at them. "Follow me!" Ariel urged, swimming for the palace. Just as the last of the group reach the palace walls, a bolt of golden energy shot of their heads and wiped out the Screwdrivers.

"That was a close one." Max sighed. "I'll say." Kevin agreed, placing a hand over his heart. "That was too close." Said a deep voice.

Huh?

Sora looked up and flinched. Sitting; somehow, on the pearl stone throne, was an elder mer-man with pure white hair and beard and cold blue eyes. There were golden braces wrapped around his wrists, a gold sea-shell crown on his head, and in his hand, he held a golden trident. His fins appeared to be a shimmering sea blue green. The mer-man sighed heavily.

"As long as I have my trident, I will not tolerate those creatures inside this palace." Like Sora, Ariel flinched at the sight of the man. "Daddy..." She said uneasily.

Uh-oh.

The man looked at her with a sad look in his eyes. "Oh, Ariel! When will you listen?" He scolded. "It's dangerous out there! Strange creatures lurk outside." Sebastian finally caught up and stood proudly at the bottom of the throne. "Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas; His majesty, King Triton."

King Triton frowned at the sight of the heros. "And who are they?" He asked frostily. Sora flinched again. Not a good sign. "They helped us fight off those creatures." Ariel said happily. The frown deepened. "They don't look familiar..." He trailed off. The Bladebreakers, White Tigers, Bryan, Ranma, Yami and Sora grew uneasy. Could King Triton know the truth about them?

And if so, they were in big trouble.

"We're from an ocean very far away." Max lied. "Yup. We came to find the Keyhole." Said Tyson, a little too cheerfully. Sora winced and tried to sush Tyson, but it was no use. As King Triton already heard.

"The what?" He asked a tad too sharply. Ariel was curious. "What's that?" She asked eagerly.

"Well, it's a - - " Tyson was cut off abruptly by King Triton who was now glaring at the gang. "There's no such thing. Certainly not here." He snapped. "But, daddy..." Ariel whimpered. King Triton shook his head and said in a firm voice; "Ariel, not another word!" He said sharply. "You are not to leave this palace. Is that clear?" He said coldly.

Sora sighed. "We better go now." He whispered to the others, and they nodded in agreement. Ut, Ariel still chose to follow them secretly.

"Wait up Sora." Sora turned to see Ariel trying to catch up, and he grew worried. "Ariel, you shouldn't be here. You're father will be very upset." He said gently. She pouted. "I don't care. Anyway, I'd like to show you my secret grotto. Do you want to come?" She asked. He exchanged looks with the others before turning to her and giving her a warm smile.

"Sure."

"Is that a dolphin?" Asked Mariah, seeing something dark swimming nearby. Ariel followed the pink haired girl's gaze and laughed. "Yes. He is a friend of mine. You can ride him if you wish." Sora could only smile as he watched the Beybladers swim for a little bit on the dolphin.

/If only life was this simple./ He told Driger. Why can't it be?Driger asked softly. Sora smiled sadly.

/Not with the threat of the Heartless still strong,/ Sora glanced down at the Three Wishes in his hand. /Sometimes I wonder why I was chosen to wield the Keyblade. I lost everything because of this weapon./ He said bitterly. If you weren't chosen by it, what do you think life could've been like?Sora frowned.

/Probably every world would be over run with Heartless and there would be no light left in the world. Still, if I hadn't been chosen by the Keyblade, I never would've met the White Tigers or the Bladebreakers. Or even _you_./ He whispered. Driger smiled.

"See that big rock down there?" Ariel asked, pointing down where a rather large boulder was blocking an entrance of some kind. Behind them, the geyser continued to blow up bubbles from somewhere underground. "Yes. Is that it?" Yami asked curiously. Ariel nodded. "Then, let's go." Ranma urged. They swam down to the lowest level of the seas, and with a grunt, Sora pushed the rock away and they all managed to get inside.

Inside, was another story. All along the cave were walls of trinkets of all kinds. Ariel opened a tiny music box and a twinkling melody played all around them. Sora was silent. "Is everything okay buddy?" Tyson asked, seeing Sora's thoughtful expression. "Do you see that marking over there, on that wall?" Sora asked suddenly. The dragon blader followed the ex-White Tiger's gaze and saw a marking in the shape of a trident on the wall and realized that it was made of a soft blue stone. "Yeah, so?" He asked.

Sora sighed. "So, there has to be something here in Atlantica that matches it. And I have a feeling, that King Triton is not going to help us." He said grimily. Ariel was thoughtful. "Well, there is the area where a ship from the surface world sunk. I can take you there." She said quietly. Sora glanced towards the others to see them nod in agreement. "Alright Ariel, but we have to be careful." He said calmly. "Why? What do you think will happen?" Max questioned.

"I have a feeling we're being watched..." Sora said softly.

_ Maleficent was laughing as she watched Sora and his friends leave Ariel's grotto and head for the sunken ship on the other side of the grotto. And what had made her laugh, was Sora's last comment._

_ "You have no idea how right you are boy."_

The group of thirteen came out of the hole where the dolphin had dropped them off, to find themselves in a large underground cave. Far below them was the remains of a once proud ship.

"Come on, what we're looking for has to be inside the ship." Sora said quietly, swimming down. Ariel hurried to catch up. Shrugging, the others followed. "Don't you think it's a bit odd, that Kon seems to know what to do before we even do anything?" Kai hissed towards Bryan who agreed.

It was strange.

What the gang failed to realize, as they entered the ship through a broken window in the back, was the shadow of a huge shark.

"What the hell is a chest doing in a ruined ship?" Lee asked, as he spotted the nearly rotten chest, sitting right underneath them. Sora ignored his question, and merely tapped the chest to get it to pop open. Inside, was a pale blue crystal trident. "It's the same as the mark in Ariel's grotto." Kevin said in amazement. Sora pocketed the crystal. "Now, let's head back before we run into any more trouble."

With a start, the ship gave a lurch and Sora cursed himself for opening his big mouth. Apparently, the shark had enough of waiting for his prey and had slammed into the ship, causing them to tumble a bit. That is, if you could tumble while being in water.

"Let's get out of here!" Tyson yelled. "Got anything in your arsenal to stop that thing?" Bryan demanded of Sora who smiled as if the cat caught the canary. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." He called forth Three Wishes and raised the golden Keyblade over his head and called out in a clear voice.

"TIME!"

The huge shark was frozen momentarily. "Come on, the spell only lasts for five minutes." Sora hissed, releasing his hold on the Keyblade as it digitized itself and returned to his heart. Waiting to be called once more.

"Let's go then." Max said weakly.

"Smart plan."

They made it back to Ariel's grotto without much problem. Sora placed the crystal trident into the trident shape hole and smiled as it began to glow. Soon, they could get out of this crazy world before Ursula chose to attack.

Sadly, Lady Luck was not on their side.

"Ariel, you've disobeyed me again!" Came King Triton's enraged voice. Startled, the whole gang whirled around, each with their respective weapon out. "I told you not to leave the palace." Suddenly, he raised his trident up, and Sora knew what he was about to do.

Destroy the crystal trident.

A bolt of energy shot out and shattered the crystal. Ariel was horrified. "Daddy, no! How could you..." She burst into tears and fled. King Triton then turned to the others and glared at Sora who did not flinch under his heavy gaze, before finally speaking. "Young man," He began coldly. "You're not from another ocean. But that of another world, aren't you?" He glanced at the Three Wishes and scowled heavily.

"Then you must be the Keybearer." The Beybladers, Ranma and Yami felt their eyes widen. This mer-man knew who Sora really was?!

Sora gave a curt nod. "Yes..." He said slowly. "You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me." He began to circle Sora as if Sora was his prey and he was the predator. "You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail." His scowl grew. "As the Keybearer, you must already know... one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds." Sora frowned.

"I already know that." He snapped. King Triton continued to rant his anger out on poor Sora. "You have violated this principle. The Keybearer shatters peace and brings ruin!" He snarled. This got the White Tigers very angry.

"Hey, Sora's not like that!" Gary rumbled, furiously. King Triton forced himself to calm down before he did something he would later regret and continued talking. "I thank you for saving my daughter. But there is no room in my ocean for you or your Keyblade." He said coldly before swimming out.

Sora just remained there, clenching his fists tightly. Of course he knew the rules about traveling to other worlds. But try explaining it to someone like Tyson! "That's it, I'm giving that guy a piece of my mind!" Tyson growled, before swimming off. "We better get him before he gets us into even more trouble." Max said worriedly.

Ranma glanced at Sora in concern. "You okay?" He whispered. "Don't let what he says get you down." Yami said gently, placing a hand on Sora's shaking body. "Where would King Triton be heading?" Mariah asked suddenly. Sora's eyes lit up as he recalled where the king would head to. "His throne. And I have a feeling we need to get there ASAP." Sora said suddenly.

Ursula grinned triumphedly as she held the golden trident in her clammy grey hands. "The trident is mine at last!" She exclaimed gleefully. The trident sparkled brightly in her grip. Sitting on the throne, weaken, was King Triton. And a terrified Ariel was clinging to him tightly. "I couldn't have done it without your help, my dear." She purred towards the young mermaid.

"Ursula, no! I didn't want this!" Ariel cried. Ursula had the most evil of all smiles on her face. "Why not? Aren't you tired f following your dear daddy's orders? Oh, yes. We had a deal, didn't we?" She mused, with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Time for a little journey - - to the dark world of the Heartless!" She roared with laughter.

"WHAT?!" Ariel shrieked.

"Think again witch!" Yelled Sora as he and the others eventually arrived, just in time to hear the last phrase Ursula said. "Why, we have company. I'm afraid you're a little late handsome!" She teased and disappeared in a swirl of black magic flames. "Daddy!" Ariel sobbed. "The trident... we must get it back..." King Triton said weakly. "Come on, let's go!" Lee said coldly. "Wait! I'm coming with you!" Said Ariel.

Sora blinked, surprised. "My father is hurt, and it's all my fault. I have to stop Ursula!" Ariel said, determination settling in her eyes. "That's right. I'm right behind you, Ariel." Said Sebastian. "Ursula's power...lies within her cauldron..." Triton whispered as they swam away. Only Sora heard the mer-man's sentence, due to his heighten hearing. Thanks to the Heartless.

Upon arriving at the sunken ship site, Sora replaced Three Wishes with Ultima. He would need all the strength and magic he could get to beat Ursula. "How can we find Ursula's hideout?" Max asked curiously. Sora glanced down to the red crab and smiled. "Do you have an idea where her lair is?" He asked quietly. The crab gave a curt nod and lead them down to the lowest level where a large rock rested against the stone wall and had a blue eel design on it.

Mariah spotted a switch of some kind, hidden behind the overturned boat next to the rock. "You think that moves the rock?" She asked, pointing to the switch. Sebastian swam through the small hole and pressed it.

Instantly, the rock shattered and they were looking into a long, dark tunnel. Ranma took in a deep breath. "Let's go in then." He said uneasily. "Right." Said Yami. Inside, everything was lit up with red light, and Kai saw why. Apparently, they were underneath an active volcano. "Where are we?" He asked slowly.

Sora activated Scan, and made sure it stayed activated until they left Atlantica. "Hm. According to this, this is the Den of Tides. Ursula's lair should be around here somewhere. Aha!" He cried, and pointed to the right path. "She should be down there. My scanner is picking up on her aura." He explained. They swam through the tunnel and over thousands of tiny squirming creatures on the bottom, until they reached a huge entrance in the shape of an eel's head.

"Ursula's lair?" Mariah asked softly. Sora nodded. "Yes." He said quietly. And they entered just in time to see Ursula toss a vial into the cauldron that sat in the middle of the room.

"Come out! You can't hide forever!" Tyson yelled. "Your time has come!" Cried Sebastian. Ursula growled softly. "Get them!" She roared as two nasty looking eels came out and started zapping at them with electricity. "Yeow-ouch!" Lee yelped as he got a rather painful dosage of lightning. _I have to take her out in one blow. But how?_ Sora wondered as he quickly cast Aeroga on everyone, protecting them temporarily from any attacks. But it would not last very long. That was it, he knew what attack to use.

"STRIKE RAID!"

He hurled Ultima at Ursula and let out a gleeful yell as the razor sharp sword cut deep into the sea witch's shoulder. He caught the flying weapon and his form blurred as he landed hit after hit on the witch. Ranma relished in every bruise and cut that marred the villainess's body. Sora reappeared next to Yami, breathing heavily. "You'll pay for that!" She hissed, before disappearing from their sights.

"What kind of attack did you use?" Tyson questioned, he was a bit jealous of Sora's skill with a sword. Sora lifted his head up and smiled tiredly. "That was Strike Raid, an attack I use for long distance. All I need to do is hurl the Keyblade at the enemy like a boomerang." Sora explained.

"Oh."

"Um, where did she go anyway?" Gary asked. Sora's eyes grew cold and hard. "Calm Depths." He said icily. "And how do you know?" Kai asked sharply. Sora raised an eyebrow. That was one question, he refused to answer. "We still need to get the trident back from her, remember?" Ariel reminded everyone.

"Fine. Let's go." Sora muttered.

It only took about half an hour and another ride of the dolphin, before they could really find the Calm Depths and Ursula. Apparently, the Calm Depths was a hidden area of the ocean that only the dolphin knew where to go. Shrugging, Sora swam through the entrance and eventually, the others did as well.

Ursula was waiting for them. She had the golden sea-shell crown on her white head and the trident was being gripped tightly in her right hand. And for some reason, black smoke was gathering around her lower body. "You pathetic fools!" She yelled. "I rule the seas now! The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!" The trident glowed brightly as her body grew to an enormous height of well over a hundred feet. Yami summoned a monster card and called forth its name. "I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman!" He cried.

Neo the Magic Swordsman

ATK/1700

DEF/1000

Neo was a young man with long blond hair and cold sea green eyes. He wore simply elven green armor, brown gloves, a blue cape and black boots. He also wielded a broad fencing sword and used sorcery to defeat his enemies. Now, Yami brought forth a new magic card. And the picture was that of a black hole. "I combine my swordsman with the magic card Yami! Increasing his attack and defense points by two hundred!"

Neo the Magic Swordsman

ATK/1900

DEF/1200

"Attack her with everything you've got my swordsman!" Yami roared as darkness swirled around the fighter monster. The Swordsman nodded and slashed forward. "No!" Sora yelled, realizing what Ursula was about to do.

But it was too late.

Ursula opened her big mouth and she **_swallowed_**__ the poor monster. Yami gasped softly in pain, and clutched his heart as he felt his connection to Neo the Magic Swordsman get severed. The pain was always worse with the stronger monsters. "I could have told you not to do that." He said peevishly as Ursula once again opened her mouth, and sent out massive bubbles at them. "Get out of the way!" Tyson screamed.

They separated and barely managed to avoid the blast. "That was a little too close." Said Ranma. "You're telling me." Max squeaked. "Where the hell is her weak spot?" Lee demanded. Sora frowned as the Scan located Ursula's one weakness. "It's the back of her head." He said finally.

"WHAT?!"

Sora grimaced at the sound of the loud screeching. "Now, Ursula defiantly heard us that time you guys!" He hissed at them. He looked over and cursed angrily as he saw her raise the trident. "Move away from her now!" He cried. "Why?" Tyson asked dumbly as Sora swam away furiously.

"She's getting ready to cast a circle of massive power! I suggest you get away before you get hit!" Sora called over his shoulder. Having the feeling that Sora was right, they swam away just in time to avoid the circle of golden flames that circled the evil sea witch. "I have an idea." Yami said suddenly. Sora glanced towards him, still casting the Aeroga spell. "Let's hear it, because I can't keep the shield up forever." He said warily, Ultima glowing softly.

"We can probably take her out in one blow. All we have to do is combine our power." Yami explained. "But, how could we channel the power?" Kevin asked curiously. Yami glanced towards Sora who blinked in surprisement. "We channel all of our power through Ultima. It may be the only way." Yami said softly. "It's the only plan we have." Bryan said uneasily. "We have no choice, we have to do it." Mariah said grimily.

Almost instantly, their beyblades began to glow. A bright red, an icy blue, a deep violet, a bright neon green, a glowing hot pink, a warm golden brown, a pure ebony, and a dark red light shot into the Ultima Keyblade, causing the weapon to begin glowing a blinding white. Ranma's icy blue aura swirled around him and it too, shot a beam of energy into the Keyblade. Yami's puzzle glowed a soft gold and it shot a beam of purplish black energy from the Egyptian eye, and into the Keyblade.

The glow of the Keyblade was overwhelming and was threatening to blind nearly everyone. Sora grinned over the hilt and pointed the glowing Ultima at Ursula and said:

"THUNDAGA!"

A single, huge bolt of white thunder shot down and ripped through the giant sea witch. Ursula shrieked with pain as her body was engulfed by black smoke. "Argh! You won't get away with this!" She shrieked as her body was digitized and the trident was left in her place. Sora was on verge of collapsing from the overdose of energy. "Let's taker the trident back to my father." Ariel said quietly, taking it into her hands gently.

Once at the palace, King Triton was given his trident back and he looked a whole lot better than he did before they went after Ursula. "Daddy, I'm so sorry." Ariel said sadly. "Please don't be angry with her." Sora said softly.

King Triton sighed sadly. "It's my fault. You followed Ursula because . . . I wouldn't let you follow your heart." He said quietly. "And when you found that crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it." Ranma's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah. Why did you destroy it?" He questioned. "That crystal had the power to reveal the Keyhole. The Keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep you away from it at all costs." He said this to Ariel, who was listening closely. "Oh daddy..."

King Triton straighten in his seat. "Keybearer, I have one more request for you. My trident also has the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?" He asked. Sora smiled kindly. "Of course. That's what we had in mind in the first place." He said gently. "Where is the Keyhole, daddy?" Ariel asked. King Triton smiled fondly. "You should know better than anyone. It's in your grotto."

"Of course. That trident marking Sora found!" Tyson said eagerly. "Hm. Then perhaps we should go and let Sora lock it, then?" Yami asked questioningly.

They swam through the Undersea Valley with no problems. Now that Ursula was gone, Atlantica could get back to being peaceful once more. Sora pushed the rock that was blocking their way into the grotto and they headed inside.

Once inside, Ariel released the golden trident. The trident floated in front of them, the tip glowing brightly as did the mark on the wall, revealing a keyhole. Smiling, Sora raised Ultima and pointed it at the keyhole and watched as the gold stars swirled around the tip and the thin beam of blue energy shot into the hole, locking it and preventing more Heartless from showing up.

"Tell me, Sora, your world. . . what's it like?" She asked, after he sealed the Keyhole. Sora turned red. "Oh, about that . . . sorry about lying to you." He said quietly. Ariel simply smiled. "It's okay. Besides, if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can, too." Sora grew quiet as she swam around him with dreamy eyes.

"So many places I want to see . . . I know I'll get there someday." She said wistfully. "Well, if you find it, do me a favor and leave me out of it." Grumbled Sebastian. Ariel giggled and then she handed what looked like a tiny orange crab to Sora. "Here, this is from my collection. I want you to have it." Sora watched as the Crabclaw keychain digitized and entered his heart. Waiting for usage in battle.

"We have to go now Ariel!" Called Mariah. "Good luck in following your dream!" Said Sora as they faded away after getting to a Rest Point. Ariel smiled.

"Someday..."

* * *

Coming up next is the Halloween Town chapter. And since Water-Goddess13 was the only one to help me, she get's the whole chapter dedicated to her. 

See you until next time everyone...


	13. Oogie Boogie's Plan

A/N: Here we go everyone, Halloween Town is up. What trouble will they find this time?

blahDriger to Rei

/blah/ Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: I don't own anything save for the Darkheart Keyblade, and everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 12_**__

Back at Traverse Town, everything was normal. That is, if you counted the continuous attacks of Shadows and Soldiers in the other two districts. "Argh, how long are they gonna keep doing this?" Kenny growled. "They'll probably keep at it until the Keymaster locks all the worlds from the Heartless." Yuffie said sadly, as she sat down next to the small teen at the café in the First District.

"Please be okay, you guys." Kenny whispered.

The group left Atlantica behind a few hours ago and were coming up to their fifth world on the map. Sora brought the ship to a halt and watched as the image of the world appeared on the main screens. The world appeared to be a huge jack-o-lantern with what appeared to be a court yard on top and a manor on the bottom.

"That's Halloween Town you guys."Sora announced. "Let's hope this world won't give us too much trouble." Kevin mumbled as they went through the mirror and into their next adventure.

When the green light from the Rest Point cleared, the gang realized they were in an old fashioned alley. Probably from the late eighteen hundreds. The black stone lanterns that hovered over their heads were **_jack-o-lanterns_**. Tyson glanced down and screeched.

"What the hell happened to us?!" He yelled. The others realized their looks had changed entirely. Probably to blend into the world.

Kai blue and bluish grey hair now resembled fiery red orange flames, still had creamy colored skin and crimson mocha eyes. His costume consisted of blood red turtleneck, a reddish gold vest, dark red pants, and red orange army boots. To everyone's shock, fiery red orange wings were folded against his back. It was as if he had merged with Dranzer.

Tyson's hair stayed the same, but his skin was now shimmering ice blue and dark blue scales, and his eyes became a reptilian yellow. His costume was that of a skin tight dark blue body suit, and with icy blue armor covering his chest, shoulders, arms and legs. He even wore icy blue armored boots with strange dark blue runes. And stretching from his back were thin dragon like dark blue wings. Like Kai, it seemed he had merged with Dragoon.

Max's hair had changed to a light lavender; much like Bryan's hair, his skin darken slightly, and his eyes became a tad inward and remained the same color. His costume was the same as Tyson's, only in different shades of purple.

Now, the White Tigers didn't change all that much, and the Bladebreakers didn't like that one bit. Since the Asian Beyblade team already resembled their bit beasts very closely, the only things that changed about them, was their pupils remained dilated, their hair was a bit longer, slightly pointed ears, and the fur of their respective bit beasts replaced their skins. And only Mariah, Lee and Kevin had tails poking out from behind them.

Bryan of course had dark reddish brown feathers replacing his skin and his eyes became more sharp and focused that of a falcon. His clothing took on a pure black color and feathery wings were protruding from his shoulder blades.

And what of Ranma and Yami?

Well...

Ranma's skin had taken on an ashen grey tone, yet his eyes remained their normal stormy bluish grey color. His costume now consisted of a dark red silk shirt that the color resembled blood, black silk pants that would allow him to blend into the night, and black army boots.

Yami basically looked like a mummy. Every inch of his body, save for his ruby red eyes and his mouth, was covered by the ancient cloth. "Er, where's Sora?" Mariah asked worriedly, her slitted chocolate eyes searching the shadows for him. Luckily, all felines could see in the dark, and she could barely make out the Keybearer's form.

"Over here." And Sora stepped into the dim lights. And allowed everyone to see the costume he was wearing.

A skin tight black body suit that the shoulders were white; and resembled bat wings for some reason, black knee high boots, with dark brown strapping's going in a cris-cross formation, white gloves that made his hands resemble claws, slender bat wings protruded from his back, and his face was shadowed by darkness, and his left eye was covered by an evil grinning jack-o-lantern face. Two tiny fangs peeked over his bottom lips.

Woah.

Defiantly a vampire.

Sora raised an eyebrow, if that was now possible, at their stunned looks. "Are you guys ready to head into Guillotine Square?" He asked lightly. "I guess..." Ranma trailed off, he just wasn't expecting this version of Sora. In fact, the martial artist had a funny feeling that the others didn't either.

Sora pushed past them, not even paying attention to their new looks. "Any reason why we look like this Sora?" Kai asked icily. "Don't worry, if anyone tries scaring us, we can scare them right back." Sora said this more to Tyson than anyone else. "Somehow, I don't doubt you will." Max muttered.

Sora laughed as the gate that would lead them to the main square lifted up and walked through, letting the others gap at the sight.

"Wait up, Sora!" Lee cried, running to catch up, his lion tail twitching behind him. The gate remained open until the last fighter got through, and slammed behind them, causing Kevin to jump at the sound.

The Guillotine Square looked like a normal courtyard, if you could get past the fact it looked like it came out of a horror film. Huge, evil grinning jack-o-lanterns were every where, and small bats flew through the cool evening air. "Search Ghosts!" Ranma hissed, drawing forth the Save the King shield. Yami withdrew the Save the Queen staff. Sora simply shook his head. "I have a feeling someone else is controlling them and it won't be for long." He said quietly, catching their attention.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang in the distance, causing the ground to tremble slightly. But, just as soon as it came, it ended just as quickly. Sora suddenly got into a battle stance, Ultima being gripped tightly in his clawed gloves. A man with a cone shaped head and a tall pointy hat suddenly raced up to them. Bryan noticed that the man's eyes were weird. One was an endless black pool and the other was a bright yellow.

Strange.

Max had a feeling that the man was the mayor of this odd town, and he was right. The man then spoke in a loud and rich voice as the Search Ghosts lined up against the water fountain that was spewing out green water.

"And now," the Mayor began. "Allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of all nightmares - - Jack Skellington!" The Search Ghosts held out their huge clawed hands, and to everyone's, excluding Sora, amazement, a tall skeletal figure wearing a black and white striped suit, rose from the green water.

"Bravo, Jack! Bravo!" The Mayor cheered. Sora rolled his eyes. "Those ghosts will be a bit hit at this year's Halloween!" That was when Jack spoke in a soft voice. "Thank you, thank you." Tyson snickered. "Guys got a big ego." He whispered to Max who chuckled in agreement.

"But their movement still needs work. It's not scary enough." Jack complained loudly. "I want to strike bone-chilling terror." Then his eyes brighten; if you could call the eye sockets that, as he got an idea. "I'm going to consult the doctor." He decided at long last. The Mayor smiled. "Then I'll go attend to the decorations." He said gleefully and scurried off, not before he noticed the costumed heros.

"Those are some scary looking costumes my friends. Care to join in our festival?" He asked, before disappearing from their sights.

Sora shook his head. "Didn't that Jack character say he was going to some doctor?" Gary asked curiously. Sora nodded. "Yes. Why?" He asked. "Then, why don't we follow him?" Gary questioned. The Keybearer snickered. Sometimes Gary had ways of surprising someone. "I believe that Jack went through that door." Yami pointed at a door just a foot away from the Guillotine that had a single lantern hovering by the doorway. Not to mention the fact the door was made of metal, signifying that it was a doorway to a lab of some kind.

The Keybearer opened the door and they climbed up the creaking dark maroon steps and opened a second door that lead into a Frankenstein reject lab. Sure enough, Jack was there. And so was a very thin man with grey skin, and stitches covering his bald head, wearing a lab coat and white pants, sat in a motorized wheelchair.

"I don't understand. Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion." Jack said with a heavy sigh, as the two peered over the lab table that held an unconscious Search Ghost on it.

The doctor waved a tiny black gloved hand. "Nonsense. My devices are always perfect." He scoffed in a scratchy voice. Sora suddenly leaned over to whisper something to the gang. "That is Doctor Finkelstein. Completely mad, I tell you." He explained very quietly. They were hiding close to the door, this way that the doctor and Jack wouldn't pay any attention to them. Hopefully. That was when Jack realized something. "Oh, I've got it!" Said Jack. "Why, of course! The Heartless need a heart!" He turned to the doctor. "Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?" He asked, gleefully. Doctor Finkelstein nodded. "Certainly. A heart's not all that complicated." He said calmly. Jack leaned over a thick brown book that was sitting on Finklestein's desk and flipped a page, before scrolling down. "To make a heart, first take a container with a lock..." He trailed off as Finklestein pulled a pulsing yellow stitched up human heart with a rather large silver lock on it and placed it on the surgical table and scowled.

"We need the key to this thing first!" He complained.

Yami turned to Sora who grew thoughtful. "Are you really gonna unlock it for them?" He asked curiously. "Why shouldn't he?" Kevin asked, in place of Sora, before the older teen had a chance to talk.

"If they succeed, we won't have to fight the Heartless, right?" The monkey blader asked. "Besides," His voice lowered as he blushed through his tan fur. "I want to see the Heartless dance, too. Don't you?" Sora shook his head. "Not really." He muttered, but, he did point Ultima at the locked heart and released the lock.

Jack was amazed. "My! That was amazing! Uh, and you are...?" He trailed off, not knowing Sora's name. "Sora." Said the Keybearer. Jack smiled. "Well done, Sora." Jack congratulated heartily. "I'd like you to be a part of this year's Halloween." He said eagerly. Sora frowned before gesturing to the seemingly lifeless Search Ghost. "What's this Heartless doing here?" He asked.

Jack looked over and began to explain the recent events that had been happening in Halloween Town. "Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently. What's frustrating is I can't get them to dance with me." He sighed heavily. "So the doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system. He's quiet a genius!"

Doctor Finkelstein rolled his wheelchair over to a table where the most hideous ingredients were kept. "Okay doctor," Said Jack, rubbing his hands together greedily. "Let's continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse. Emotion."

On the table where Finkelstein sat, a toad quivered. "Terror." Purred Finkelstein. Terror turned out to be a glass jar? "Fear," This came from Jack. And Fear was a squirming bat. "Hope and despair." Hope and despair were two curled up and connected serpents. "Mix them all together and we have a heart!" Jack exclaimed.

Doctor Finkelstein threw a switch and the machinery in the room hummed with power as blue lightning cackled all over the surgeon table and the Search Ghost sat up before falling back onto the table, lifeless once more.

Finkelstein waved his hands to get the smoke out of his face, from when the machinery started to go haywire and scowled. "It failed!" He wailed. He then looked at the book Jack had been looking through earlier and frowned. "Maybe, we're missing some ingredients." He mused and much to the Bladebreakers, and the White Tigers disgust, opened his head, revealing the greyish brain inside. Finkelstein began to rub it a few times. "Sally!" He called. "Sally!"

Nothing.

"Good for nothing girl!" Finkelstein growled as his head closed, hiding his brain from view. "Don't know why I bothered creating her!" He then sighed and faced the gang. "Sally's got the memory we need. See if you can find her." Jack nodded. "No problem. Sora, would you like to come along?" He asked, pleasantly. Sora grinned a toothy grin. "Sure."

The group slowly climbed down the stairs and were stopped by the Mayor. And boy, did he look upset. "Jack! Jack!" He wailed. "We have a major crisis! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can't stop them!"

Say WHAT?!

Sora scowled darkly. Jack frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm. . . . Maybe our experiment triggered something." He then gave a reassuring smile to the Mayor of Halloween Town. "Everything will be fine, Mayor." He promised. "Nothing to worry about." Ranma snickered. "Famous last words." He sneered. "So, where do you think Sally is, Jack?" Sora asked curiously. "Probably in the cemetery. She likes being there." Jack said slowly, as if he wasn't too sure about this. "Then, we should check it out first." Said Yami. Jack then smiled happily.

"Then, follow me." He said.

It didn't take long for them to find the cemetery. Tyson shivered at the sight of all of the graves. Sora frowned. "Hm. Let's check this place, too. Once the Heartless here are out of our way." He mused. And just like that, they were attacked! One set was Search Ghosts, but there were now two new kinds of Heartless in this graveyard.

The only aerial Heartless resembled gargoyles used on old castles from millenniums ago, only these had glowing yellow eyes, purplish bodies and the Heartless crest on their chests. The other resembled a tall mummy like man with a round head, nasty looking claws and glowing yellow eyes peered out from empty eye sockets.

"The aerial Heartless are known as Gargoyles. They like to shoot blue flames at their enemies. And the others," He avoided the creatures whirling arms. "are Wight Knights. Try not to get caught near them when they twirl their bodies like that." He said dryly.

"Take this! HA!" Ranma growled, firing a blast of ice blue ki at the nearing Wight Knights, effectively sending them into dust city. The pure crystalized hearts flew away. "Thundaga!" Sora called. Bolts of lightning rained down, and took out the Search Ghosts. "Take that!" Jack called forth many balls of dark energy which effectively crushed the Gargoyles.

"How is it that you guys are so good?" Max whined. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it's because they've been fighting longer than we have?" Lee grumbled. He recalled that back in the village, Sora was always doing some kind of training. Be it physical or spiritual.

"Oh."

"Zero!" Jack called. From where a grave sat, on the tombstone was the name _zero_, a spirit that was a dog with a glowing pumpkin nose, rose from the ground. "Have you seen Sally anywhere?" He asked. The ghost dog nodded before diving behind a different grave. "Oh!" Came a soft musical voice.

Slowly, a woman with stitched up parts and wearing a rag dress, emerged from behind the grave where Zero had dove behind earlier. "Is something wrong, Jack?" She asked, sweetly. Jack shook his head.

"No, everything's going great. We're going to have the best Halloween ever. All we need now is your memory." The 'young woman' blinked and removed some forget-me-nots from behind her back.

"'Memory'? You mean this?" She asked, gesturing to the dying flowers in her slender hands. After Jack took the flowers from her, she began talking once more. "Jack, I have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you try something else? There's still time." She pleaded.

Jack scoffed at the idea. "Nothing could beat what I've got planned! Once we give the Heartless a heart, they'll dance just as I envisioned it. Trust me." He said gently, placing his skeleton hands on her quivering shoulders. "You're going to love it!" With that being said, they turned around to get ready to head back to Doctor Finkelstein's lab. Sally sighed and followed them.

What no one noticed, was that the rather large stone coffin that lied at the end of the cemetery open slightly and three costumed kids jumped out. A devil, a witch and a skeleton boy. "Lock!" Came from the devil. "Shock!" Squealed the witch. "Barrel!" Squeaked the skeleton boy. Barrel then turned to his two mischievous companions.

"Did you heart that?" He asked. Lock nodded. "Yeah, I sure did! A heart! What should we do?" He asked. Shock scowled at him. "Gosh! You really are stupid, aren't you?" She hissed. "Isn't it obvious?" Barrel got a wicked gleam in his large black eyes. "Tell Oogie Boogie."

At the gates, Sora heard everything on what the three pranksters said, and his lips curled into a cruel smile. /Those brats are going to get it later./ He purred. Driger shifted. Can I help?He asked eagerly. Sora chuckled mentally. /But of course./ He promised.

They got the forget-me-nots to Doctor Finkelstein. The strange doctor rubbed his hands in excitement. "Yes. this is it. Now, just one more ingredient. We need "surprise" to complete the heart. The Mayor should know where it is." Sora nodded and headed for the door, and got the funny feeling that the mischievous brats had told Oogie Boogie about the heart.

He was right.

Deep in the hidden chambers of his manor, Oogie Boogie was prancing about. "Heh, that idiot Jack is still trying to make a heart? Doesn't matter, I'll nab it and control the Heartless. Then no one can stop me!" He laughed cruelly.

Lock, Shock and Barrel clung to each other, shivering in fear.

Once back out on Guillotine Square, Tyson asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Um, where can we find the Mayor?" He asked. Sora grew thoughtful before his single bluish white eye perked up and he began to break out into a run. "Wait! Where are you going?!" Lee called.

"To the cemetery, where else? I have a feeling that the Mayor is there!" Sora called over his shoulder.

They reached the cemetery without a problem. Only one thing was wrong with Sora's theory. There was no one in the cemetery. "Well? Where is he?" Kai snapped. Sora ignored him and went to the stone coffin and pushed the lid back slightly. "Well? You guys coming or what?" He asked lightly, jumping in. Jack silently followed. And after a hesitated pause, the others eventually followed. . . .

And were throne out into an area Jack recognized as the Boneyard. The Mayor stood a mere three feet away from where the coffin had spat them out, and for some reason, there was a huge pumpkin head sitting in front of them.

Very weird.

The Mayor grinned as Sora told him what Finkelstein needed. "If you can solve the puzzle of the spirits, you'll get a marvelous surprise!" It took only a mere minute as Sora found it easy to solve the spiritual puzzle of ghosts popping up behind from certain graves. Behind them, the huge pumpkin head exploded and it left behind a small glowing blue chest. Sora quickly tapped it with Ultima and pocketed the item inside and told the others they should be heading back.

What they failed to realize, was that Oogie Boogie was making his move in attempting to control the Heartless.

Big mistake.

Finkelstein was ecastic. "Yes. This is it. There you go." He placed the 'surprise' into the artificial heart. "This time it's sure to work." He began to move his wheelchair over to the surgical table, that is, until Barrel threw himself in Finkelstein's path. "Ya!" The little prankster cried.

Finkelstein went sprawling over the floor, and the heart with him. Giggling, Lock and Shock nabbed it, and all three scurried off, leaving Finkelstein to rant. "The nerve of those little hooligans, stealing my work!" He growled, furiously. Sora exchanged looks with an angered Jack and he smiled to himself.

Time to play.

"Let's go after them!" Tyson cried, running out of the lab, with everyone, minus Finkelstein, behind him.

Outside, the three mischievous pranksters were nowhere to be found. "Aw, we lost them." Kevin whined. Jack gave a sharp whistle, as if he was calling for someone. Or something. "Zero, after them, quick!" Jack ordered, as his ghostly dog appeared. Zero nodded and zoomed off for the cemetery. Sora gave a curt nod.

"Let's go then." He said sharply.

The group of thirteen friends managed to make it to the third area of the huge cemetery without any attacks by Gargoyles, Wight Knights and Search Ghosts. Almost as if the enemy of this world was simply waiting for them to come. Question is:

How did they know?

Jack pushed the gates that would lead to Oogie Boogie's manor, open and they scurried inside. The skeleton scowled heavily. "I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!" He hissed. Obviously, to the others, minus Sora, had the feeling that whoever Oogie Boogie is, Jack did not like him one little bit. Like before with the cemetery, they didn't have any trouble making their way up the long and winding path to the top of the hundred foot wooden building.

The bridges and stars creaked and groaned under their combined weight until finally, they reached a metal door that had a huge padlock on it.

Smirking, Sora slashed at it with his hands.

The lock shattered, and everyone stared at Sora. Some in awe, and others in fear. "How did you do that?" Jack asked in amazement as he kicked away the remains of the lock. Sora simply smiled. "That's my little secret." He purred.

Tyson kicked the door open and they were looking into an evil version of a child's playroom. Old fashioned torturing tools lined the walls, and the walls were painted an ugly red.

How revolting.

Only to be attacked by those annoying little brats! Sora grinned as the spinning Shock was bounced back because of the shield spell he had cast. Time to bring out Driger.

"Courage!" He called.

A ball of white, sparkling light left Sora's heart and he clutched it in one hand, and held the Keyblade in the other.

"Give me strength!"

He brought the Keyblade down and began to twirl around in a circle slowly until he came to the Northen point. Underneath him, the circle was glowing a bright green. And behind him came a glowing green flaming portal.

"Driger!"

Out of the fires, came a familiar roar as a massive, yet elegant, White Tiger. It leapt from the green flames, its white fur glisten in the dimly lit room, as its golden eyes glittered dangerously at the three shivering pranksters.

"Tiger Claw."

Was all Sora said, before all hell broke loose. And, boy, did it really let loose.

Driger's razor sharp claws began to glow with an eerie golden light, before the huge tiger vanished completely. Shock looked around frantically. "Where'd it go?!" She demanded shrilly. Before Sora could answer, she as well as her two fellow pranksters cried out in pain as they were slammed into one of the four walls. And they slid to the ground in a daze. Driger reappeared and nuzzled Sora softly before digitizing and returning to his place once more within Sora's heart.

Sora leaned down and grabbed Shock by her purple witch's costume and began speaking in a frosty voice, that not even the bladers heard him speak in. "What were you thinking by stealing that heart?" He hissed at her, his single bluish white eye seemed to turned red for a second, but it was gone. Shock shivered. Sora was scaring her more than Oogie Boogie did!

And that's saying something.

"We were just following orders!" She whined as he tossed her to the ground in a very rough manner. "Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart!" She then pointed an accusing finger at Barrel. "It's all Barrel's fault!" She cried. "It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie!" Lock nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Barrel frowned, not too pleased by being snitched out by his two friends. "B-but you guys said - - " He got cut off by Shock. "You should be ashamed!" She scolded.

Oh boy.

Jack frowned, defiantly not happy with the way things were turning out. "Where is the heart?" He asked sharply. Barrel shifted. "Oogie Boogie told us not to give away his hiding placed. Oh, and we're not suppose to talk about the lever."

Lever?

Kai saw Sora perk up at this. Obviously, the brats weren't very good at keeping secrets. "Oogie Boogie made us do it." Lock whined. "We're not supposed to tell you about the green door, too." Said Shock.

Green door?

Sora gestured for the others to come towards him. "I know where Oogie's hiding place is." He said quietly. Lee's eyes widen.

"How?" He asked.

Sora snickered. "The brats gave it away. See that lever over there by Shock?" He asked. Lee saw the machine with the lever sticking out by the witch. He nodded. "Yeah, so?" He asked. "Ranma, could you please push the lever back?" Sora asked suddenly.

The pig-tailed martial artist shrugged before shoving the lever rather hard. Instantly, they heard a ping in the distance and Sora smiled. Part one was done, now to get to Oogie Boogie. "Just follow me. The green door is just right below us." Sora told them as he left the play room behind. And three very nervous pranksters.

Down towards the bottom of the manor, and below ground, was a green door. "I guess this is it." Max said uneasily. Sora was holding Ultima, Ranma his Save the King Shield, and Yami his Save the Queen Staff. All three had a grim look on their face.

Sora opened the door and they slowly walked inside. And found themselves in a medieval torture chamber. On the lower platforms was a Russian roulette. Only it had skulls in the place of numbers. Sora winced at the sight of the giant blades sitting calmly next to the wheel. He recalled that those blades seriously hurt.

"Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!" Jack yelled as he saw his arch rival standing across from them on another platform. Oogie Boogie smirked. "You want it? Well, then come over and get it." He sneered, and to their horror, he **_swallowed_** the heart in one gulp.

"Now, let's see if I can get their attention. Oh, Heartless!" He called. The three who had gotten their weapons out, got into battle stances. Only two measly Gargoyles appeared. One on each side of Oogie Boogie; who did not looked pleased at all. "This is it?" He asked dumbly, before becoming enraged. "Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!" He roared and the battle began!

A blast of red energy, threw them onto the roulette. "Aw man, everyone, be careful! This roulette of Oogie's is very tricky!" Sora warned as Oogie Boogie tossed a pair of blood red dice onto the wheel and it exploded. Luckily, no one was really hurt.

Sora activated Scan and kept a lock on the laughing demon and smiled as he saw the skull headed gems began to glow. He quickly jumped onto the one, that would lock him in place. So he had the advantage of attacking the evil ghoul. Instantly, jagged fences rose up, boxing everyone in. And even Oogie Boogie.

The platform that Sora was on, began to rise, and soon Oogie Boogie found himself staring right at the end of Sora's glowing Keyblade and grew afraid as he stared into those emotionless bluish white orb. A reddish blue aura surrounded Sora as well as Ultima.

"Take that!" Sora growled as he became nothing more than a mere blur, as he slashed repeatedly at Oogie Boogie in a zig-zag manner. Finally, Sora was lifted into the air, and Oogie Boogie was surrounded by a field of bluish white energy, before he felt his energy get drained into the Keyblade. With a groan, Oogie Boogie's body became unraveled as every bug that was in him, came out. Even the artificial heart. Jack sighed heavily. "So, the heart was a failure after all." He said sadly. "Let's go you guys. This place gives me the creeps." Said Mariah.

However, as they tried to leave, a voice rang out. "You're not going anywhere!" They whirled around and stared in horror as Oogie Boogie merged with his own manor. "Woah!" Cried Tyson. "How'd he get so big?" Ranma asked in awe.

"Look! It's brimming with the powers of darkness!" Sora said angrily, pointing to the glowing purplish black orbs that were scattered on the manor. "Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globes!" Jack said slowly, realizing the task they must do. Yami was thoughtful. "I may just have the right monster to do this. Will you allow me the honor, Sora?" Yami asked carefully. Sora looked into his friend's deep red eyes and he nodded.

Yami drew in a sharp breath and withdrew three monster cards and summoned them. They were Dark Magician, Silver Wolf and Neo the Magic Swordsman. "I sacrifice my three monsters to summon the all might Slifer the Sky Dragon!" He cried.

The skies above them, grew even dark as ice blue lightning raced across the darkening skies. All three monsters disappeared in a ball of white light, as a new and more powerful one took their place.

Sora gasped, and rubbed his chest where his heart was. For he could feel the immense power coming from this new creature. The dragon was well over a thousand feet long, gigantic head, four glowing yellow eyes, two razor sharp mouths, a slender ruby red body, and thin yet elegant dark blue lining ruby red wings.

Slifer the Sky Dragon

ATK/X000

DEF/X000

"Now, Slifer, destroy Oogie Boogie's manor!" Yami ordered, his pyramid puzzle glowing brightly, and the same eye that was on the front of the pyramid, was glowing softly on his forehead.

**_"At once, my pharaoh."_** Whispered a rich, and deep voice. However, it seemed that only Sora heard it, as no reactions appeared on the others.

Slifer opened his second mouth and out came a stream of intense flames. Fire hot enough to create plasma. Everyone had to shield their eyes, as the fire created a light so bright, it was almost blinding. "Nooooo!" Oogie Boogie howled as he was destroyed.

Hopefully for good this time.

Slifer gave out one last tremendous screech and disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light. When they could see, all thirteen saw that Oogie's manor was gone and so was Slifer. Yami dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. He winced as he felt a strong, but gentle, hand place itself on his shoulder.

"Here." Came Sora's soft voice as he handed Yami a Megaelixer. Yami smiled and quickly swallowed the contents. His energy already being restored to normal. "Thanks." He whispered. Sora smiled. "No problem." The full moon shone brilliantly over their heads. And before their very amazed eyes, the entire ground was glowing in the shape of a keyhole. It would seem that Oogie's manor was sitting upon the keyhole to the world.

Sora raised Ultima over his head. Gold stars swirled around the tip before sending a thin beam of blue energy into the air and into the keyhole, effectively locking the world from the Heartless. "That's another world locked for us, and nothing for those Heartless!" Tyson cheered. Sora laughed at the younger boy's antics.

Back at Finkelstein's lab, Jack was very miserable as he realized that Sally had been correct all along. "Sally, why didn't I listen to you?" He moaned, placing his head into his hands. Sally placed her hands on his quivering shoulders. "Don't feel bad Jack," She said softly to him. "We'll come up with a better plan for Halloween. Next time, we'll do it together."

Jack looked up, just as the Keybearer and his friends were getting ready to leave. "Sora, I want you to have this." He handed over an orange pumpkin head keychain. It was the Pumpkinhead keychain. "Thanks Jack." Said Sora, as he pocketed it. "Good luck with your festival!" Kevin called as they began to flicker out of this worlds existence. Soon, they were gone. Jack smiled.

"Thank you Sora."

* * *

This chapter was dedicated to Water-Goddess13

I hope you liked it.

Neverland is up next.


	14. A Horrifying Secret and AntiSora

A/N: Trouble is brewing for our heros, can they make it threw Neverland. Alive?

blahDriger to Rei

/blah/ Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, save for the Darkheart Keyblade. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.

**_Chapter 13_**__

Traverse Town was in shambles. Since Sora and his friends departure a month ago, more Heartless were pouring in. Despite the fact that Traverse Town's keyhole had been sealed. Plus, the beybladers had been worried since Merlin showed them the events in Agrabah. And that had been two weeks ago.

Just where were they now?

And were they okay?

The gang left Halloween Town behind about two days ago, and were traveling through the interdimensional space, looking for the next world. Ranma's eyes widen as he saw something big heading their way. "A big ship is catching up to us." He said uneasily. "Quit gawking!" Yami snapped, peevishly. "It's a pirate ship!"

Pirate ship?!

"Uh-oh!" Tyson cried. "It's gonna ram right into us!" Max yelled fearfully. Sora grabbed the controls, trying to prevent a major crash from happening. "Hang on!" He yelled as their Gummi Ship went flying for the pirate ship.

Defiantly not good.

Sora groaned as he eventually came too. Standing up, the Keybearer realized he was once again, on Captain Hook's ship. /I'm in so much trouble./ He muttered to Driger who was curious by what his master and friend meant.

"Hello Sora." Said a frosty voice.

Sora stiffened, hearing the familiar rich voice. He slowly turned and the color drained from his face. Grinning evilly at him, was someone he thought he would never see again.

Riku.

Riku's eyes glowed dangerously at him. Sora was uneasy. Since when did his eyes glow red like that? And how on earth did his body even get here? Especially since Riku's heart was pulsing inside his own heart. "Remember this person?" Riku sneered as he raised his hand. Sora paled when his own Shadow appeared in front of him. Its yellow eyes glittering brightly.

Sora looked up and his bluish white eyes spotted the one person he had been searching for. Sitting next to Riku, on the ground, with glazed eyes, was Kairi. "Kairi!" Sora called, pain easily heard in his voice.

"Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy." Captain Hook growled before a hatch was opened right underneath Sora's feet, and he fell through with a surprised yell. "Make sure he doesn't leave that area." Riku hissed before picking Kairi up and leaving a certain pirate captain to fume.

"I did it. I finally found her."

Ranma was pleased to hear that Sora sounded much happier than he had been for the entire time they had been on this journey. Which, by the way, lasted for two months. Strange, when it took Sora four years to reach Neverland.

"Then let's go to her." The pig-tailed martial artist said eagerly. "Sounds great." Said Yami. "Only one problem." He continued dryly. Sora frowned. "What?" He asked. "How about getting off of me?" Yami grumbled. Sora turned red as he realized that they were all sitting on top of a disgruntled Yami.

"Heh, heh. Sorry." Sora said, sheepishly.

"Ahem! How ya doing there?" Came a soft boyish voice. Sora looked over and blinked. There was someone else in here? "Looking for a way out?" Out of the shadows came a young boy with messy auburn hair and soft brown eyes. He wore a simple green leotard and brown cloth boots. He also had a small dagger tied to his belt. Ranma frowned. "Who are you?" He asked warily. The boy smiled, and Tyson was stunned to see that the boy had pointed ears like an elf! "I'm the answer to your prayers!"

Silence.

The boy frowned. "Okay, then. Fine. Have it your way." Sora held up his hand, preventing the boy from leaving them behind. "But," he began. "you're stuck in here too, aren't you?" He asked curiously. The boy crossed his arms. "Nope. I'm just waiting for someone." Sora tilted his head, imitating a curious looking cat. "Who?" He questioned.

Suddenly, a ball of glittering golden light dove in through a crack in the only doorway and went over to the boy and began tittering at him. The boy smiled in relief. "Tinker Bell, what took you so long?" She tittered wildly. His smile grew. "Great job. So you found Wendy?" More tittering and he frowned. "Hold on. There was another girl there, too?"

_Kairi_, Sora thought wistfully.

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Are you crazy? I'm not gonna leave Wendy there!" He scolded. Tyson laughed. "Aha. She must be pretty jealous then." He laughed out loud. Tinker Bell turned and slapped him across the face. Max giggle at the two fighting.

The boy was pleading now. "Come on Tink! Open the door!" He pleaded. "Ahem." Said Sora. The boy turned and frowned before finally giving his name. "I'm Peter Pan." Sora gave a thin smile and held out his hand. "And I'm Sora." Peter scowled. "Okay. We're in this together, but, only until we find Wendy."

Up in Captain Hook's main cabin, the now possessed Riku stood over the sleeping Kairi. "Hn. The Keybearer will be arriving soon." He murmured and caressed Kairi's cheek gently. Somehow, unknown to Maleficent's knowledge, Riku still maintained some distant memories. However, those memories were of when Riku was possessed by the Heartless.

Sora was in big trouble.

Sora knew he had to tell everyone about Riku's resurrection. So he told them after they left the small room. "I thought you said Riku was swallowed by the Heartless?" Kevin asked in confusion. He didn't even see the pain in the older teen's eyes. "What I didn't say was that Riku's heart merged with mine. After that, Riku's, Donald and Goofy's bodies vanished. I don't know how Maleficent did it. But, she'll pay for it." Sora said icily.

Peter Pan was floating in the air, golden dust swirling around him. This caught the attention of Ranma, and he asked the question that had been on everyone's minds. "So, uh," he began nervously.

"How come you can fly?" Peter chuckled merrily. "Anyone can fly. You wanna try?" He asked lightly. The others nodded eagerly. A second later, Tink flew up to Peter tittering in that language that only Peter could understand. Peter frowned unhappily. "Aw, haven't you cooled off yet, Tink?" He whined. Tinker Bell merely pouted.

"Just a little bit of pixie dust." Tink flew all around the Beybladers, Ranma, Yami and Sora. She seemed to like Sora and hovered around his shoulders, tittering. Peter smiled. "There. Now you can fly." Tyson tried, only to fall flat on his face. Tinker Bell giggled and pointed at him, as if laughing at the poor dragon blader.

"Um, there's probably one other thing I should mention." Sora said suddenly. Lee glanced his way and was curious to what his friend meant. "What?" He asked gently. Sora sighed. "Riku somehow summoned an Anti-version of me." He mumbled, turning red.

Uh-oh.

Ranma opened a door and they climbed inside. It was completely empty. Tinker Bell tittered around Peter, making the boy frown. "What is it Tink?" He asked. Then a musical female voice spoke up from above them. "Peter? Peter Pan?"

Huh?

Sora looked up to see two graters. One had a hole in it, the other did not. But he saw a young girl, about Peter's age, peeking through the intact grater. Her large blue eyes were wide with fear. "Wendy!" Peter yelped gleefully. "Please hurry! The pirates are coming!" Wendy said fearfully. "What?! I'll be right up there! Just hold on!" Peter promised. Sora hesitated before speaking up. "Wendy?" She blinked at the sight of the worried Keybearer. "Yes?" Sora took a deep breath and asked; "Is there another girl in there, with you?" He asked hopefully. Wendy's eyes widen in realization.

"Oh, why, yes." She looked over to see a seemingly sleeping Kairi resting in one corner. "But she seems to be sleeping. She hasn't budged an inch." She told the young warrior. Sora reached up a hand, as if trying to grab Kairi's hand. "Kairi..." He called softly. Her hand twitched and he got a hopeful look. Suddenly, Wendy cried out in fear, and everything seemed to turn dark in the room above them.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled, in anguish. "Wendy!" Peter yelled, worried for the girl he was beginning to like. "Hey, let's get up there!" Peter said, urgently. Sora looked up to the hole in the other grating and jumped up, and landed in a cabin. The others, knowing of his determination to reach Kairi, followed him. Peter Pan only followed because he wanted to get Wendy to safety.

"Hey, it's a green trinity mark." Max commented, seeing the symbol in front of the double bunk bead. Sora grew thoughtful. "If I remember correctly, the green trinity mark is the ladder one." He mused. "Meaning...?" Bryan asked. "Meaning that Ranma, Yami and I will have to form a ladder." Sora explained simply.

Oh...

"Huh?"

Sora sighed. "Just watch." He snapped. Since Sora was the tallest, he leaned down, and waited for Ranma to climb on. The martial artist caught on, and climbed onto Sora's broad shoulders. And Yami did the same to Ranma. Slowly, they stood up, and Yami yanked down a ladder that had been strapped to the ceiling. And quickly jumped apart. "That's a very useful talent." Peter mused.

They climbed up. Sora went first, then Ranma, then Yami, followed by Bryan, then the Bladebreakers, and lastly was the White Tigers. Peter Pan simply flew upwards.

Sora's eyes widen as Riku picked up Kairi and headed for the door that would lead to the main deck. He held out his hand, as if to stop the teen. "Riku, stop!" He cried. Cold, blood red eyes glared at him. Sora gasped as Anti-Sora appeared, gripping a pure black version of the Kingdom Keyblade.

Not good.

"Wind!" Sora yelled, casting his Aeroga spell just in time. The anti-Keyblade slammed into it, and bounced off. "You never told us that he would have your moves!" Kai yelled angrily, as Anti-Sora used a darker version of Strike Raid. The Bladebreakers cried out in pain as they were slowly beaten to a pulp.

Bluish white eyes narrowed angrily as he took in the bloodied and unconscious forms of the Bladebreakers. Rage settled on his face as he glared at his double. "You'll pay for this!" He roared.

"Ku, ku, ku..." It chuckled and separated into three Anti-Sora's! "This is defiantly not good!" Ranma said grimily. Yami thought of one way to erase Anti-Sora. And hopefully, forever! Yami took out a green magic card and held it up. "Dark Hole!" He yelled. The black hole opened in the cabin, and sucked in the stunned Anti-Sora. It gave a withering look to Yami before its yellow eyes locked onto Sora's bluish white ones and grinned, revealing its fangs and mouthed to him:

_"Soon."_

Sora shivered. He prayed that history would not repeat itself. Sora removed a bunch of elixirs from his bag and summoned his healing magic. "Heal." He whispered. Bells rang as soft petals fluttered around the unconscious Bladebreakers. Slowly, their wounds healed. But not by much. As soon as their eyes opened, Sora thrusted his batch of potions to his friends. "Drink them." He ordered. Not wanting to anger him, they did as they were told.

Peter Pan picked up a sleeping Wendy, who had been left on the soft bed in the cabin. "Wendy..." The boy whispered, cradling her princess style. "Come on, Tink, not now!" He said quietly "Well, this is as far as I go. I have to help Wendy." And with that being said, Peter Pan flew off, with Wendy in his arms.

Sora sighed and pushed the door that would grant them access to the main deck and went through, with everyone following him of course. Outside, they were stopped by Heartless. Heartless that looked an awful lot like the Bandits of Agrabah. Instead of blue skin, these had black skin, same glowing yellow eyes, and were dressed in brown silk pirate garments. They were also waving around curved blades.

In front of them, and behind the Pirate Heartless, was Captain Hook. And he was grinning nastily at them. "You won't be going to Hollow Bastion."

Hollow Bastion?

This caught the others, minus Sora, attention. Obviously, whatever the generals were planning, would take place in this Hollow Bastion. Sora simply glared at the captain with utter loathing in his eyes.

"Unless you intend to leave your little pixie friend behind." With that said, he held up a lantern with a trapped Tinker Bell inside. She looked miserable. "Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare your lives." The Pirate Heartless merely waved their swords as they seemed to dance about. "Be glad I'm merciful, unlike the Heartless."

The others shivered. "Don't do it Sora!" Tyson cried. Sora's eyes remained shadowed by his dark brown bangs. "So, which will it be? The keyblade, or your friends?" Then Ultima vanished in a swirl of white light, returning once more to Sora's heart. Captain Hook's grin grew even nastier as the Pirate Heartless forced Sora onto the plank. His grin faded as he heard a ticking in the distance. "It's him!" He moaned.

Him? Him who?

"The crocodile that took me hand! Oh, Smee! He's after me other hand! I can't stay here!" Down below, a certain crocodile had swam up to the ship and saw Sora standing on the plank and opened its huge jaws up. "Go away!" Captain Hook cried, fearfully. "Oh, I can't stand the sight of him! Smee, you take care of them!" He ordered, and raced back into his cabin.

_"Fly, Sora!"_ Sora thought he heard Peter Pan's voice. _"Just believe, and you can do it!"_ Sora closed his eyes and stretched out his hands. "Believe..." He whispered, and only Lee and Mariah heard him, because of their sensitive hearing.

And then, Sora jumped!

"Sora!" Mariah screamed. "No!" Ranma yelled. Suddenly, Sora was flying right over the ship. Golden pixie dust swirled around him, just like Peter Pan.

But how?

Sora smiled at Peter, who had flew up next to him. "Thanks." He said softly. Peter grinned. "Hey, don't mention it. You didn't think I was gonna leave you and Tink behind, did you?" He teased. Sora turned red and didn't say anything as Peter released Tink from her tiny cage. "Thank god, you're alright." Mariah said in relief. And hugged Sora tightly.

Peter held up a finger and shushed them. He quietly knocked on Captain Hook's door. "Is that you Smee?" Came the man's voice. "Did you finish them off?" Peter grinned and then pinched his nose, imitating Smee's voice perfectly. "Aye, Captain." Peter said. "They walked the plank. Every last one of them."

The door flew open and an eager Captain Hook rushed out. When he saw that he had been tricked, he whirled around and glared at Peter with pure hatred. "P-Peter Pa - Blast you!" He growled. Peter Pan snickered. "Ready to make a splash, you old codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!" Sora leapt back as Captain Hook lunged for him with his sword. Sora started doing flips, to avoid being sliced to ribbons.

Sora summoned Ultima and the two clashed their swords together. "Give it up, boy!" Captain Hook hissed. Sora smirked. "Yeah right. Since when have you creeps known me to give up?" He mocked. Sora then whirled his body around, hoping to trick Captain Hook into taking a fake turn.

It worked.

Sora brought the sharp end of Ultima into Captain Hook's ribs as he moved his body in the wrong direction. Captain Hook yelped in pain and stumbled back. Through the Scan visor, Sora saw Captain Hook's dropping relatively fast.

The pirate captain fell to his knees, breathing heavily. One hand over his bleeding wound. He hadn't expected the boy to be so good with the Keyblade. Looks like he too, underestimated the teen and that had been his downfall. "What the hell did you do?" He growled. Sora smiled eerily.

It was as if the darkness in him was in control. "A little trick of mine that I picked up in the Bladebreakers world." He gestured to his glittering weapon and Captain Hook saw a shimmering blue powder on it. "What is it?" He asked, dumbly. Sora snickered. "That would be a selective type of poisoning from an asp. Asp's are serpents, and they happen to have deadly poison." Sora's smile grew. "And I suspect you'll be dead right about...now."

Captain Hook's eyes glazed over as he gurgled once, and slumped to the ground. The life fading from his eyes. And it seemed that Sora's eyes regained their normal sweet look, and lost the mad one. Sora leaned over one of the railings, his eyes glazed over in thought. "Um, since Kairi couldn't wake up, maybe she really did loose her - - " Tyson was cut off by Max's elbow. "Hush you!" He snapped, gesturing to Sora. "Sora..." Peter Pan whispered. He truly felt sorry for the lonely warrior.

_"Hey, Sora." Called a low voice. Eight year old Sora looked up into nine year old Riku's eyes. "Hm?" Riku had an excited look on his face. "When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!" Sora smiled in agreement. "Sure. But, isn't there anything fun to do now?" He asked curiously._

_"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house?" Riku asked as they started to leave the Secret Cave. Sora nodded. "She arrived the night of the meteor shower!" Sora was surprised as the two left the cave behind._

_The real Sora watched this from behind a boulder. His eyes narrowed when he saw the golden lined key hole in the door that had always been in the cave. I've never noticed that before he thought. A rustling caught his attention and he looked over to see a figure covered completely in shadows standing in front of the door. _

__Who could that be?

_**"Soon, this world will be completely eclipsed in darkness..." ** _

Sora shook his head, trying to erase the sudden and strange memory from his mind. "We better find the keyhole so we can leave." He said quietly. Peter Pan's eyes lit up. "I think I may know where it is." He said suddenly.

Huh?

Peter Pan took them to a familiar city that the Bladebreakers recognized instantly. "It's London!" Max said in shock. They were floating high above the city, and in front of the famous Big Ben clock. Sora floated a little higher up and spotted Wendy. Peter Pan eagerly headed over to her. Wendy looked sad for some reason. "Peter Pan, are you really going back to Neverland?" She asked sadly. Peter Pan sighed and nodded. "Afraid so. But we can see each other any time. As long as you don't forget about Neverland that is." He whispered. Suddenly, Tinker Bell flew around him, tittering loudly. Peter bit his lips.

"Oh, boy. She's getting steamed again." He glanced over to a bemused Sora. "Do me a favor, and look after her, will ya?" Sora blinked.

"What?"

Tinker Bell twittered around Sora, making him smile slightly at the pixie's affection. "One of the clocks is wrong. Do you mind fixing it?" Wendy asked to the bladers, martial artist, the wandering spirit and Sora. Sora nodded. "Sure." Said Gary.

Sora floated over to one of the clock faces and realized that one read a quarter to midnight while the others said midnight. Sora struck the big hand three times and floated back as the whole clock face lit up with soft white light. By the little hand, was a glowing keyhole. Sora pointed Ultima at it, and watched as the keyhole was locked. And a new gummi piece came out.

"Thanks for everything Peter." Mariah said warmly as they took the Rest Point that was above Wendy's head and disappeared back into the Gummi Ship.

Ready to continue on their adventure.

Back in the Gummi Ship, Sora was peering at the new gummi piece. "Well, we found the last gummi piece." Yami commented. "Let's head back to Traverse Town." Ranma suggested. Sora nodded in agreement. "Cid can install it on the ship once we get back." He mused and set course for the world.

Everyone was excited to see the group. "How's everything going with you guys?" Yuffie asked as they walked through the gates. Lee glanced towards Sora, who gave a curt nod, so the lion beyblader took that as his cue and told Yuffie of the recent events. When he was done, the female ninja was stunned. "Woah. And something tells me, the worst as yet to come." She commented. Sora winced. "I don't like it how you said that." He said dryly as he and the others left her behind to search for Cid. Hopefully, he would be behind the Accessory Shop.

And he was.

Cid was amused that they found the second gummi piece. "Looks like you found the other one. Let me see it." Sora handed it over to the pilot. "Okay, wait here. And I'll get it installed for you." He walked off, leaving them standing there, alone.

Sora frowned. "Come on Sora, cheer up." Said Max. Sora looked up with bitter bluish eyes. "How can you be so cheerful? The Heartless are wiping out everything." He grumbled. Ranma and Yami exchanged looks. "We know that if we stick together, we can do anything. You just have to believe in yourself." Said Yami. "Just believe..." Sora trailed off, his mind lost in a memory.

_"I believe in you..."_

_Sora looked around. He was standing in a huge library. There were books of all kinds here. And sitting at a large table was a kindly looking old woman. She had her grey hair tied back into a bun and had warm dark blue eyes. Just like Kairi. And she wore a simple purple dress. "Where am I?" He wondered out loud as the woman began to recite an old story. One that Sora knew all to well._

_It was about the Heartless._

_Long ago, people lived in peace_, _bathed in the warmth of the light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. _

_The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of the light survived ... in the hearts of children._ _With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It is the world we live in now._

_But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. that's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the inner most darkness will open. And the true light will return._

_So, listen child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away._

___The old woman smiled gently. "Do you understand, Kairi?" Silence. And the old woman began to panic and look around frantically. "Kairi?!"_

_Kairi was gone._

"Huh?" Sora snapped out of his daydream. It was a daydream, right? "What's the matter?" Ranma asked worriedly. "Um, nothing." Sora lied. He then tuned everyone out. "Kairi...did you call me?" He whispered. He looked up to see Cid returning. "I installed that Navi-Gummi. But ya know?" He shook his head. "That place is crawling with Heartless. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Cid tossed them another gummi. "Take that with you as well." Turned out to be a Transform-G piece. Sora thanked him and they headed back towards the gates to re-enter the Gummi Ship. "What do you suppose Cid meant that place is crawling with Heartless?" Gary mused. "I know what he meant." Sora said softly. Ranma realized that Sora was shaking and he placed a gentle hand on Sora's shaking shoulder. In an attempt to calm him down. "What did he mean, Sora?" Yami asked gently, also realizing Sora's unease. "Hollow Bastion." Sora said quietly. His bluish white eyes shone with tears. Lee had never seen Sora cry before. Ever.

"We're going to Hollow Bastion."

* * *

Hm. Seems they're getting ready for their biggest battle yet. Facing off against Maleficent and finding out more of the connection between the now HeartlessRiku and the keymaster Sora.

Stay tuned.

P.S.

There are only two more chapters after this, and the story will be done.

For now...


	15. The Downfall of a Hero

A/N: Slightly revised.

**/blah/ ** Driger to Rei.

/blah/ Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Same as in Prologue

_**Chapter 17**_

"We have to go to Hollow Bastion." Sora said quietly. "Hollow Bastion?" Lee repeated. Sora nodded. "Yes. It's where the Heartless generals make their plans." Sora explained. The other beybladers from the other teams, came up to them. "So, we have to go to a world beyond Neverland?" Max asked uneasily.

"What are you guys talking about?" Emily asked. The group of twelve glanced at her. And the red headed girl flinched. Since this journey had begun, she had begun to notice the changes in the two teams, Bryan and Sora.

Their eyes showed ancient wisdom, as if they had seen and done things no one should ever have to have seen and done. So, Yami explained to those who had no idea what had occurred in Neverland with Captain Hook's revelations about the plans for Hollow Bastion.

"Woah. That sounds harsh." Kenny said after a while. Tala looked at Sora right in the eye and gave a curt nod. "Good luck...my friend." Sora smiled. "Thank you Tala." He said softly. And so, with a wave, the group of twelve left Traverse Town behind and headed for Hollow Bastion.

"Good luck." Emily whispered.

/line break/

In the gummi ship, Sora typed furiously on the main computer. "Hallow Bastion is just beyond Neverland." He looked up. "I can get us there faster by warping us there." He said quietly. "Do it." Kai ordered. Sora nodded and pressed a button. "Er - - you better hold on." He warned.

Just as the gummi ship gave a tremendous lurch and the ship went through a wormhole, spitting them right out in front of what appeared to be a giant castle with a waterfall underneath. Mist seemed to swirl around the castle.

"Is that - - ?" Tyson trailed off. Sora nodded, grimily. "Yes. Hollow Bastion." He said coldly. "Let's go." The mirror appeared behind them and they disembarked onto the world and into their worst adventure yet.

/line break/

They landed on cold, hard rocks down at the very bottom of an eerie looking water fall. Above them, cliffs floated in the air, leading a path to the castle high above them. "Man, would ya look at that!" Ranma said in amazement, looking up towards the evil looking castle that had mists swirling around.

Sora frowned. "I know this place..." He trailed off. "Hmm, that's strange." Lee mused. "I wonder why..." Sora mumbled, rubbing his chest tenderly. "I feel this warmth inside, right here." He touched his chest, right where his heart was pulsing. He could feel an incredible warmth filling him to his very soul.

"Aw, you're probably just hungry." Gary teased. Sora glared at him and crossed his arms. "Hey, I'm being serious!" He snapped.

A huge roar echoed in the distance.

The gang exchanged looks. "Um, we should get going." Tyson said uneasily. Sora nodded. "You're right." He took off for the nearest cliff and landed with ease. And he kept jumping from rock to rock. It took all of the bladers, Ranma's and Yami's might, just to keep up with Sora. They kept jumping from rock to rock, until Sora heard the possessed Riku's voice ring out as well as a deep, throaty male one.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless...So tell me, how'd you get here?" Riku sneered. Sora saw that Riku was talking to a demonic bestial like creature with huge claws and wore only a deep blue cloak and black ripped pants.

"I simply believed." The Beast growled. "Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost." Beast promised darkly. "I believed I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here." He glared at Riku with pure hatred. "I will have her back!" He roared. Riku smirked. "Take her, if you can." He mocked.

Riku withdrew a pure black dragon winged sword and slammed it into the Beast's chest who stumbled back, wheezing in pain.

"Stop!" Sora cried, running forward, not even paying attention to see that the others had caught up. Sora didn't even care if that person who had just attacked the Beast was Riku or not. Riku grinned at Sora. "So, you finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you." This caught the fighters attention.

Just what was going on between the two?

"We've always been rivals, haven't we?" Sora remained silent, not wanting to answer. "You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you." Bluish white eyes narrowed slightly. "Riku..." Riku's grin then faded as he eyed Sora as if he were nothing more than a mere bug to him. "But, it all ends here. There can't be two Keyblade masters."

Say what?!

"What are you talking about?" Mariah snapped. Riku reached out a hand. "Let the Keyblade choose...its real master!" Riku growled. Sora gasped as Ultima struggled to get out of his hands and he strained with all of his might to not let go.

But it was no use.

The Keyblade vanished from Sora's hand and reappeared in Riku's. Everyone froze at the sight.

"Huh?" Ranma gasped.

"What?!" Yami yelled in shock.

Riku frowned, his red eyes gleaming oddly. "Maleficent was right." He then glared at Sora who's eyes had glazed over in shock. "You don't have what it takes to save Kairi." He hissed. "It's up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the door...and change the world."

That didn't sound good.

"But that's impossible. I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!" Sora snarled. Riku smirked cruelly. "You were just the delivery boy." He then tossed a wooden sword at Sora's feet.

"Here. Go play hero with this." He mocked, before disappearing from their sights. Sora just fell to his knees, completely stunned that history was repeating itself once more. Then that meant that he would be forced to reveal one of his greatest secrets of all times.

Sora looked up as he heard the Beast struggling to get to his feet and try to go after Riku. He scrambled to his feet and ran to the fallen cursed man. "Hey, don't move. You're hurt." He said gently, placing his lightly calloused hands on the soft dark brown fur.

The Beast looked up with pained blue eyes. "Why...Why are you...you here?" He demanded, panting. Sora stiffened, his eyes wide. The Beast stood up slowly. "I cam here to fight for Belle. And though I am on my own, I will fight." Beast said with determination. "I won't leave without her. That is why I am here." Sora grew thoughtful as he glanced back towards the others and saw what he wanted to see in their eyes.

They would stick by him no matter what. Plus, he still needed to get to Kairi. Sora picked up the wooden sword and smiled warmly at the Beast who blinked at the sudden change. "Me too." Sora said softly, looking towards the castle. "I'm not gonna give up now." His eyes grew misty as he thought of his secret love and soulmate. "I came here to find someone very important to me." He whispered.

"You also have us Sora." Lee said softly, placing his hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora smiled. "Thanks guys. I don't know what I would do without you." He said with a small smile. "You can't get rid of us that easily!" Tyson cheered. Sora laughed at the younger boy's antics.

Hm.

Now to get to the castle.

There was another platform above them. Sora glanced over to the right to see a smaller platform that was rising up and down. He moved a bit closer and waited until it was at the right level and jumped on. The platform rose and he landed with ease to the stone bridge above them. The others caught on, and managed to keep up. There was a flash of purple light in the distance before a circular platform shot from across the ocean and picked them up, and dropped them on the edge of the castle.

In less than a millisecond.

"Woah." Said Max, as he shook his head. Trying to clear the dizziness away. "That was...different." Yami commented dryly, also clearing his head from dizziness.

"The main doors will be locked. We'll have to find another way of opening them." Sora said suddenly. "The lock should be in the water dungeons." Beast growled. "Question is, how do we get down there?" Mariah wondered out loud. Sora looked around and then he saw the gates to their right. Shrugging, he went through. It was worth a shot.

Sora then spotted two crystals. Only one would lead them down to the dungeon area. But, which one? "Which of those crystals will get us down?" Lee questioned. "We have to choose, I guess." Kevin murmured.

Sora went to the one that was at the very edge of the castle and touched the glowing blue crystal. It turned yellow, and a platform appeared before them. Before any of them had a chance to speak, the same purplish light that brought them here, placed them into the platform, and it went down to below the castle.

When they reached the bottom, new Heartless attacked!

The Heartless were giant balls of purplish black with wiggling antennas, glowing yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth. "Those are Darkballs." Sora said grimily. "Do they have a weakness?" Max squeaked in fear. Sora shook his head.

"No."

Beast attacked the Darkballs with his huge claws, effectively keeping them at bay. "Go! I'll hold them off!" Beast growled. Since Sora no longer had the Keyblade, he had to weave through the attacking Heartless and came to a giant water bubble that was floating in mid air right by what he assumed was the dungeons.

He leapt into it.

The gang was just stunned as a smaller water bubble separated from the bigger one, and went _under_ the building and into the dungeons. Having a funny feeling that smaller bubble had been Sora, they followed in hot pursuit as did the Beast.

Mariah shivered from the coolness of the watery dungeon. Even the ground was flooding with ice cold water. "This place gives me the creeps." She said, still shivering. To their right was a Rest Point. And a...breakable wall? Sora simply pointed to the wall and Beast caught on. He slashed at it, and it crumbled into pieces. Sora climbed over the rubble and went in even deeper into the dungeons. They followed.

The only thing anyone saw, was a second bubble in the next area. Sora jumped into it, and was transported into a third area of the watery dungeon. There was a glowing button resting against the wall. "Press it." Ranma said with a shrug. Sora pressed it, and the gate by them opened. Lee blinked.

"Oookay..." He said slowly.

"That was strange."

Kai nodded in agreement, his hand on his launcher. Just in case they got attacked down here as well.

Sora walked ahead, not even paying attention to their conversations. Besides, if his memory served correctly, the next switch should be around the corner. He turned the corner and smiled.

He was right.

Sora pressed it and looked up to see another gate just up ahead, shifting as did the whole layout of the dungeon. He quickly pressed the second button that was on the gate that would lead him and his friends to the switch for the castle gates. While they weren't paying attention, Sora had managed to get to the second level of the dungeon and he threw the main gate switch on and was back up before anyone could even really say anything.

"Um," Sora began. They stopped their arguments and silly nonsense talk. "Yes?" Lee questioned. "We can go to the main gates of the castle now. It's open." Said Sora. They stared. "H-how?" Kevin stuttered. Sora shrugged. "I flipped the switch while you guys were talking."

"Oh."

As they left the dungeon, Sora had only one thought. _Please Kairi,_ he prayed. _Please hang on. I'm almost there._

/line break/

Somewhere deep within the castle, Maleficent was walking down a long hallway, where each Princess that the Heartless had taken, remained in suspended animation. Locked away in crystal chambers. And Kairi, her body was floating in the middle of all six. Her face was peaceful, yet her body was surrounded by purplish black mists.

Finally, Maleficent stopped in front of a huge hole in the wall in the shape of the Heartless crest. The hole had an eerie red glow to it. She raised her staff.

"O purest of hearts! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

From the sleeping Princess's bodies, hovered a red crystallized heart. Each heart shot a thin beam into the air and into the hole behind her.

Maleficent smiled evilly.

Everything was going according to plan.

/line break/

Sora threw the doors open that would lead them into the main hall and stormed inside. Wincing, the gang followed.

"Be on your guard." Warned the Beast. "They're close. I can feel it. Are you ready?" Sora stepped forward, but Beast was distracted by something behind them. He whirled around to see a beautiful young woman with wavy dark brown hair done in a bun and was wearing a golden gown.

"Belle?" Beast rumbled in shock. Suddenly, the woman was surrounded by purplish black mists, before giving away to a Shadow Heartless. Growling, Beast raced after it, and the door slammed behind him.

Not good.

"Quit while you still can." Came Riku's cold voice. Sora turned around and frowned as he saw his former friend's body standing there.

"No. Not without Kairi." Sora snapped. Riku frowned and his islander clothing changed. He was now wearing a skin tight black body suit with the Heartless crest on his chest, and knee high black boots. In his hands, he held Sora's Ultima Keyblade.

"The darkness will destroy you." He intoned in a monotonous voice. Sora's frown deepened. "You're wrong Riku." He said icily. "The darkness may destroy my body, but I refuse to let it touch my heart." He glanced towards his friends and smiled softly. "My heart will stay with my friends. It will never die!" He yelled. Riku scoffed. "Really...Well, we'll just have to see about that!"

Riku held out his hand, and sent a rather impressive size blast of pure dark energy at Sora. Sora didn't even try to get out of the way. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact that would destroy his body.

Only it never came.

"Sora ain't gonna go nowheres!" Ranma yelled, using his shield to block the attack. Sora opened his eyes to only stare at Ranma in shock. For Ranma had just deflected the attack by jumping in front of him.

But why?

"Why do you fight for that loser?" Riku growled. Ranma glared at him. "There is no way I'm gonna betray Sora. Especially not after all we've been through together!" He snarled. Yami placed a gentle hand on Sora's shoulder and gave a hard glare to Riku who was not impressed.

"It's all for one and one for all Sora..." Yami whispered into Sora's ears whose eyes widen a Yami had apparently echoed Donald's words.

"Thanks you guys." Sora said softly.

Riku was still holding Ultima. "How will you fight without a weapon?" He sneered. Tyson glared at him. "What I wouldn't give to knock that look off his face." He growled. Sora looked up with sad eyes. "I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart." He answered.

"Go Sora!" Max cheered.

"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do?" Riku mocked. Sora just stared at him with a neutral look upon his face.

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone," he said quietly. "It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all of the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart," his hand flew over his chest, right where his heart was and he smiled serenely.

"Just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then . . . if they don't forget me... then our hearts will be one." Sora got into a battle stance, holding the wooden sword tightly.

"I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!" He yelled. Riku gasped as the Keyblade left his hand, and replaced the wooden sword. "It won't do you any good!" Riku roared as he lunged for Sora. Sora quickly rolled out of the way.

"Wind!" Sora cried, and the barrier of mist swirled around him. And just in time, too. Apparently, Riku had tried to end Sora's life by slicing through his chest.

Didn't work.

Instead, Riku was thrown from Sora and went flying into the hall. He slumped to the ground in a daze. Sora blinked.** /Looks like you put too much power into that one spell. It took him out in less than a second./ **Driger commented dryly.

Sora nodded.

/You're right./ He said weakly.

"This isn't over yet, Sora!" Riku snarled and he vanished in a blaze of black flames. Sora relaxed as Riku disappeared. "You okay, Sora?" Ranma asked worriedly, as he jogged up to the Keybearer. Sora sighed.

"I don't know Ranma. I really don't know anymore." He said sadly.

"Hey, you think this place has a library?" Kevin asked suddenly. Everyone gave the monkey beyblader a weird look.

"What? What I say?" Kevin asked in confusion. "Libraries in castles like these are usually kept on the second level." Max mused. Sora glanced to the right to see a spiral stair case leading up. "Guess we take the stairs." He said dryly.

They climbed up the spiral stairs, not even one Heartless attack. Which in itself was very odd. Sora glanced down one hallway and saw a door that had the Heartless insignia upon it. There were four missing pieces to it. That would have to be taken care of later.

Much later.

"There's a set of wooden doors down there." Said Kai, pointing to the end of the hallway. "That must be where the library is." Yami said out loud.

Sora shrugged. "It's worth a shot." He muttered and went inside. Sure enough, it was indeed the library. And it was huge! Sora walked forward until he spotted a book on the bottom of a bookshelf. According to the title it said: _Khama vol.8_.

"Hm. It should go around here somewhere..." Sora trailed off, looking around. On the bottom shelf right next to them was an empty space. He carefully slid the book back in and gestured for them to continue on. What they failed to see was that the bookshelf slid back, revealing a hidden passage way.

"How can we get out of here?" Ranma asked as they stepped away from the shelves and into what appeared to be a large black table and an empty chair, resting by a spiral staircase that lead to the upper level. Sora froze, seeing the table and chair. His mind instantly shifted to the memory he had of a younger Kairi talking to an old woman who was telling the tale of the light that was the Keyblade.

"There must be hidden passages." Lee said quietly. "Only, we just don't know where." Sora frowned. "I think I might know. Just give me a few minutes." He muttered before blurring from their sight. He didn't teleport, just moved at an incredible speed. About ten minutes later, and after watching bookshelves shift, Sora returned.

"Everything's done. We should probably return to the Entrance Hall." He pointed out and they headed through the door that would lead them back out into the hall.

/line break/

Sora saw several objects surrounded the central brazier and knew that the brazier flame had to be put out. He pointed Ultima at the several stone heads and called forth his fire spell. "Firaga!" He cried. Instantly, the flames in the central brazier went out and a small treasure chest dropped to the bottom of the Entrance Hall. Sora jumped down and landed with ease on the green marble floor.

Ranma had little effort for his years of training in martial arts and Yami just used his own ancient magic to get down. However, the Bladebreakers and Bryan twisted their ankles slightly. The White Tigers had no problem, for they lived in a secluded village in the mountains their entire lives.

Sora went up to the chest that had fallen and tapped the lid with the Keyblade. It popped open and resting on green velvet was a broken emblem piece of the Heartless crest he had seen earlier on the door in the second hallway on that was above the only water fountain in the Entrance Hall.

The second emblem piece; which was the blue one, was sitting to the right of the hallway with the Heartless insignia door. The pink emblem piece fell from above the library doors. And the violet emblem piece was hiding in some vases near the castle door.

"What's with the broken emblem pieces?" Gary asked. Sora then explained the door he had seen earlier, and that the door had the Heartless insignia upon it. Only to find out that the insignia was missing four emblem pieces. The exact same pieces that Sora had just gathered up.

Sora inserted the correct emblem pieces into their corrective place. For a second, nothing happened. Then the insignia was surrounded by a soft white light, before the entire wall lifted up, revealing a long an dark hallway.

"Guess we go through it." Bryan said uneasily.

Sora lead the way, though. Apparently, they had discovered the castle Lift Shop. Sora then pointed to a doorway down the hall. "We should take that door. I don't trust this place." He said grimily. "If you say so." Lee said uneasily, following the Keybearer through.

Instantly, once outside, they were attacked by Darkballs and huge red falcon like creatures.

Wyverns.

Sora summoned Ultima and leapt into the air, bringing the Keyblade down on the aerial Heartless. Yami blasted the Darkballs away with a fire spell. All twelve headed through another doorway which lead them into another area of the Lift shop. "Okay, this place is seriously confusing." Tyson grumbled.

The next door that appeared before them lead them into a medieval chapel. Sora grew tense, for he could sense an overwhelming darkness. "So, you finally appeared Keymaster. I am indeed impressed that you last this long." Purred an evil voice. Sora stiffened and slowly turned around to see the evil witch was smiling cruelly at him and his friends.

"What's this? You've picked up some new friends. How . . . quaint." She mocked. "Well, they'll end up just like the kings friends. . . .dead!" She snarled.

"Wind!" Sora yelled, quickly casting the shield spell that would protect them from Maleficent's summons of the shield wearing Defenders.

"Force!" Sora yelled again.

This time, the ball of dark energy forced the platform that Maleficent was riding on, to crash. "Why you - - !" She screeched. Sora leapt out of the way of her sharp nails. This was between him and her, the others could easily take care of the Defenders.

He hoped.

Sora decided it was time to summon an ally to the field. But who to choose? He decided on the last minute to maintain using Driger.

"Courage!"

A ball of white light left his heart. He clutched it in one hand, and gripped Ultima tightly in the other.

"Give me strength..."

He brought the Keyblade down and began to move in a circular motion. The light left behind by the Keyblade, was a bright glowing neon green. Underneath him, the _kanji_ for White Tiger, flashed. And behind him, came the glowing green portal of pure fire.

"Driger!"

There was a roar before a majestic white tiger leapt from the green flames and nuzzled Sora gently. Sora smiled and locked eyes with the magnificent beast. "Let's do this Driger." He whispered. The tiger nodded and waited as Sora climbed on and clung gently to the soft white fur. Sora glared at Maleficent. "It's over!" He hissed.

"Tiger Claw Attack!" Sora commanded.

The eleven friends had to stop in their fighting to watch in amazement as Driger's claws began to take on an eerie golden glow as the two began to head towards the witch at an alarming speed. Maleficent was trying to blast them away with bolts of pure magical energy. But she couldn't get a lock on them.

"Go Sora!" Lee cheered.

Maleficent cried out in pain as deep gashes started to mar her green skin. More and more kept appearing all over body, but Sora and Driger were nowhere to be found. Kai smirked. The Ex-White Tiger and bit beast were moving at a speed faster than the human eye could see.

Finally, the two reappeared. Maleficent's yellow blood staining Driger's claws. "You'll pay for this." She hissed.

But, Sora wasn't paying attention to her. In fact, none of them was. They were looking behind her. Growling, and still in pain, she turned to see a figure about Sora's height wearing a black hooded robe. His/her robed form was shrouded in black mists. "Can't even take care of a whelp, can you?" Teased a deep voice from within the robe. Defiantly male.

In the man's hands was a gleaming red handled black sword. "Is that..." Yami trailed off. "A keyblade?" The man mused. "Yes. But unlike Sora's, this one can unlock hearts." The man-child whirled around. "Allow me to demostrate!"

"Behold!" The man-child roared out, and stabbed her through the heart with what appeared to be a shiny black sword.

"Wha–?" She gasped in pain before the pained gasp melted into one of pleasure. "Yes." She moaned.

"Open your heart to the darkness...become Darkness itself!"

And her body was surrounded by green flames before she shifted forms. The man-child simply laughed and vanished.

Sora's eyes widen slightly and he began to back up as he realized what form Maleficent was taking shape of. "What's your problem?" Bryan snapped, seeing him back away. "She's taking on the form of a giant black dragon. Back up now." Sora ordered.

Eep.

Sora took to the air, and barely managed to avoid getting the life stomped out of him by the dragon's huge claws. He looked down and cursed when he realized that the others were not so lucky. He tossed a Cottage; it would heal any injury, into the air. Thus, healing them for the time being.

"How the hell did this happen?" Ranma demanded, dodging the swipes of the dragon.

Sora had Scan activated and he frowned. "She sacrificed her body to the powers of darkness. And if we're not careful, she could kill us with one blow." He said grimily.

The Beybladers had sent their bit beasts, only to have them retreat back into their respective blades. Yami had then summoned the Dark Magician, only to have his most beloved monster destroyed. Yami gasped in pain, and clutched his chest, grimacing from the pain as he felt his link to the Spell Caster get severed. Sora knew one attack might do the trick.

A powered up Strike Raid.

First, Sora cast Aeroga then he swallowed an Elixir. He would need all the magic he could get to finish this dragon off once and for all. "Ha!" He cried, as the Keyblade was bathed in an icy blue glow. He hurled the Keyblade with all of his strength at the dragon's head and relished in the roar of pain that the dragon emitted. He repeated this a few more times until. . . .

Huge bolts of ice blue lightning shot down and ripped through the weaken dragon. Destroying her entirely. Sora dropped to the ground in exhaustion, not even paying attention as a new corridor was revealed in the Chapel. Ranma and Yami ran up to him worriedly. "Are you okay?" Ranma asked in concern. Sora had to use a Tent; it would only restore his magic, and then looked up and smiled warmly. "Don't worry. I'm fine." Sora reassured them. They relaxed.

By a mere hair.

"Where did that corridor come from?" Max asked suddenly. Sora looked up. Sure enough, a new corridor was right across from where they were. His eyes narrowed. He knew that deep in his heart, Riku was waiting in there for him. "Let's go." He said quietly, getting up and going through.

/line break/

They left the Lift Shop behind and were now walking down a long an eerie hallway. "Oh my god." Mariah said in horror.

"Look!" She cried.

Lined in crystallized chambers, three on each side, were young woman. "It's Alice!" Max said in shock, recognizing one. "And Jasmine." Bryan added, uneasily. Recognizing the seemingly sleeping Arabian Princess. Sora looked up to the upper level of the room and he broke out into a run, before jumping into the air, and landing in the upper area.

The others ran to catch up, only to slam into an invisible force field. Sora looked around the strange machinery until he spotted Kairi laying not to far from him. His eyes widen. "Kairi!" He cried, rushing to her. The group was stunned.

"Please wake up." Sora pleaded gently. "She won't wake up." Said a cold voice. Sora looked up sharply, as did they, and saw Riku sitting atop the glowing Heartless Insignia upon the wall. He jumped off and gently floated back down to the ground.

"What do you mean, she won't wake up?" Ranma asked icily from where they were trapped.

"She lost her heart to the darkness."

Sora suddenly let out a pained gasp, and clutched his chest. Right where his heart was. For a red light sparked just around the area, seconds ago. "It just so happens that her heart is in you Sora." The silver haired teen continued.

"Kairi's heart is in Sora?" Tyson asked weakly. "Who are you really?" Yami snapped. 'Riku' smiled and held out his hands, as if to mock them.

"I am Lord Ansem. Seeker of darkness. And now..." He turned to face Sora, who was still bent over as if in pain. In his hands, Riku held what looked like a dark version of Sora's Kingdom Heart Keyblade.

A dark Keyblade.

"Now, Princess. I shall unlock your heart and unleash everlasting darkness!" He roared and was about to spring the dark Keyblade on Sora, when...

_Sora!_

Sora stopped Riku with Ultima, effectively blocking him. "You're not taking Kairi's heart!" Sora yelled. He quickly activated Scan and took to the air. Barely avoiding blasts of dark energy coming from Riku's body.

Sora quickly cast Aeroga and then Keyblade clashed with Keyblade. Good versus Evil. Light versus evil. Only one thing settled in Sora's friends minds.

Who will win?

Who indeed.

Sora waited until Riku was close enough before he delivered a number of swift combos to the teen's body. Ten to the head, ten to the chest and six to the legs. With a groan of pain, small bolts of blue lightning swirled around him before Riku stumbled back, disappearing from their sights. But, for some reason, the force field that was preventing everyone else from helping Sora, did not choose to fade.

Slowly, the Keybearer stood up and kept looking between the sleeping Kairi and the dark keyblade. He remembered that while his Keyblade locked worlds, the dark keyblade unlocked hearts. With a sad smile, Sora knew what he had to do.

He began walking over and he picked up the dark keyblade. "Sora, what are you doing?" Lee asked uneasily. Sora looked over to them and smiled sadly.

"Ranma, Yami," They perked up. "Please take care of Kairi for me when this is over." Then it dawned on Yami what Sora was about to do.

"Sora, don't!" He screamed.

"What? What's going on?" Ranma asked fearfully. Yami's eyes were wide with terror. "He's gonna unlock his own heart!" He cried. Realization dawned on the others. "Then that means..." Tyson's eyes widen in horror.

"Sora! Stop!" He yelled.

But it was too late.

Sora impaled himself upon the tip of the dark keyblade.

Almost instantly, the dark keyblade separated into six separate crystallized hearts and re-inserted themselves into their owner's bodies. The force field disappeared instantly. Sora started to sway dangerously on his feet; golden mist swirled around him gently. That is, until a single golden heart left his chest and inserted into Kairi.

Kairi drew in a sharp breath before her eyes flew open and she was getting to her feet. Sora began to fall backwards.

"Sora!" Kairi screamed. She tried to reach Sora. But the moment her fingers touched his skin, he vanished in a swirl of golden sparkles.

"No. He's gone..." Kairi sobbed.

"Sora, you idiot!" Lee moaned.

"Sora!" Mariah wailed for the loss of her friend. "We have to get out of here before the Heartless show up." Yami said uneasily, tears were trickling down his face. Everyone was crying for they all lost someone very close.

As they raced to reach the Gummi Ship, no one noticed a Shadow Heartless peeking out from behind a corner before shifting into a familiar Anti-version of someone they knew very closely. Anti-Sora watched them leave, confusion settling on his face. He chose to follow them by blending into the walls.

Didn't he want to destroy them?

So, why was he following them?

/line break/

_Sora was falling through an endless dark hole. Everything was fading. Why should he care about anything in this cold? Only one thing stood out in his mind. A beautiful young girl with wavy dark red hair and warm prussian blue eyes. She was laughing in delight._

"_Kairi...."_

"_KAIRI!"_

/line break/

They managed to reach the Entrance Hall, when Yami whirled around and uttered a startled cry as he was looking into a pair of curious yellow eyes. The others turned around and stared in shock as Anti-Sora tilted his head in confusion.

Why where they staring?

Kairi's eyes started to water. "Sora..." She whispered. Anti-Sora was confused even more. Why was the pretty girl crying? And why did she look so familiar?

"K..Kairi...?" The Shadow rumbled, it's voice hoarse and scratchy. _I didn't think Heartless could talk_, Kevin thought in shock.

"Kairi, stay away from him." Ranma said grimily, standing in front of her. "But it's Sora. I know it is." Her dark blue eyes searched Anti-Sora's soulless yellow ones. "I can feel him still inside." She said softly.

Suddenly, they were surrounded on all sides by hundreds of Shadows. "There's too many of them. We can't take them all on." Tyson said darkly. Kairi stood in front of Anti-Sora, protectively. "Don't worry Sora. You've protected us long enough. It's time we did the same for you." She said gently.

Then the Shadows attacked!

Anti-Sora grew angered when he saw that Kairi was being attacked. He growled softly, sending warning signals to the Shadows to back off. However, the Shadows did not listen, nor did they understand. They attacked both Anti-Sora and Kairi without hesitation.

"Kairi!" They yelled.

They had already lost Sora, they couldn't take it if they lost another one too. Then, a beautiful, pale bluish white light forced the Heartless away, and everyone could only stare in complete and utter aw. Holding onto Kairi very gently, was Sora. Not Anti-Sora.

But the real Sora.

"Thank you Kairi for believing in me." Sora whispered. "S-Sora?" Ranma asked shakily. Sora looked up and over and gave a sad, yet warm smile. "Yes. It's me." He said tiredly. "Come on, we have to leave before the Heartless return." Lee said warily. He was glad to see his friend was alright. But something seemed different about Sora.

But, what?

/line break/

About three hours later, they were once again in Traverse Town. Kairi left them alone for awhile while the others went to see Cid who was waiting for them behind the Item Shop. Cid told them how he escaped Hollow Bastion nine years ago and hid a very special gummi deep within the Secret Waterway.

"A light at the end of the tunnel..." Kairi trailed off. Sora blinked. "Your grandmother's story, right?" He asked. She smiled. "That's right. You were with me."

Inside, they found Kairi standing there in the ankle deep water. Ahead of her was a mural. "A light at the end of the tunnel..." She whispered. When Ranma went up to the sunny mural a gummi piece dropped and he picked it up as the sunny mural shifted into a mural with a moon and stars.

Sora quickly pocketed it and looked at Kairi and smiled. "Your grandmother's story, right?" He asked. She looked surprised before smiling warmly. "That's right. You were with me."

"You know what's funny?" Sora asked. "What is?" Yami questioned. "I looked everywhere for you, Kairi, but you were with me all along. Finally, we're together." She smiled at him. "Now, it's time to get Riku back once and for all." Sora said, determined.

"You think it'll ever be the same between us? I mean, Riku's lost his..." Sora shook his head at that.

"When I turned into a Heartless, you saved me. Remember?" Sora asked.

_In his mind, Sora saw himself falling into eternal darkness..._

"I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way," Sora said sadly. "As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things–my family, my friends, even who I was." He looked up to see that their eyes were watery.

"The darkness almost swallowed me. But then I heard a voice. Your voice, Kairi." Sora said softly.

"You were the one to bring me back." She hugged him tightly. "I didn't want to forget you Sora. I could never do such a thing." She whispered, still hugging him. Then Sora realized how he came back from the eternal darkness.

"That's it!" He cried.

They looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What are you talking about, Sora?" Ranma asked curiously.

"Our hearts are connected. And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness." Sora said excitedly. "I saw that light. And I think that's what saved me." He grinned at them. "No matter how deep the darkness is, a light shines within." He gave a laugh.

"I guess it's more than a fairytale."

"Well, let's go then." Said Kairi. Sora turned. "No you can't go." He said sternly. "Why not?" Kairi demanded. "Because it's too dangerous." Yami spoke up.

"Come on Sora," Kairi whined. "We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone." She told him. Sora smiled weakly. "Kairi, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?" He asked. "So, I can't help?" She asked. He gave a weak chuckle. "You'd kinda be in my way." He joked.

"Okay. You win." Kairi gave Sora her tiny white star good luck charm.

"Take this. It's my good luck charm." He glanced down into its smiley face. "Be sure to bring it back to me, okay?" She asked. "Don't worry, I will." He promised. She smiled. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you." She whispered as the trio left back for the First District.

Upon reaching the doors, they were stopped by Lee. "And just where do you think your going?" He demanded. "To seal up, Hallow Bastion." Sora said quietly. "But, why?" Max cried. "You nearly died back there!" Kevin yelped. "He has to. If he wants to stop the Heartless." Yami said softly.

Lee sighed. "And I'm not going to stop you." He said quietly. Sora smiled. "We'll stop them, Lee. I promise you that." Sora told his friend. As they left, Lee whispered one last thing.

"Good luck."

/line break/

Once, Ranma, Yami and Sora entered the Gummi Ship and entered the interdimensional space, Ranma saw that a new warp hole appeared on the world map. "What's with the new warp hole?" He asked. Sora blinked. "That will automatically take us back to Hollow Bastion." He explained. Yami shivered.

"Then let's seal the keyhole before it's too late."

/line break/

The Ship showed up in front of Hollow Bastion in less than a second. This time, when the mirror appeared, two Rest Points appeared on the surface. Sora selected the Chapel one. And they dove through.

/line break/

When the green light faded, all three were standing back in the Chapel. The Princess's of Heart were once again revived and standing nervously around them. It was Aurora who spoke the main clue that they would need.

"When the Keyhole appeared, darkness poured from it." She said softly. Sora glanced towards the corridor.

"We have to go." He called.

"Please don't tell Aladdin about this." Jasmine whispered. But, they were already gone. "Good luck." Came from Belle. The trio darted past weak Shadows and re-entered the hallway where Sora had became a Shadow.

Sora stood before the giant Heartless insignia and pointed Ultima at it. Nothing happened. "What gives?" Ranma asked in confusion. "Something's preventing me from sealing the keyhole." Sora said worriedly. "And whatever it is, it's inside the insignia." Yami added. They exchanged looks and nodded before diving into the Dark Depths. Not even knowing what they would find in there.

/line break/

Yami stared up.

And up.

And up...

"What is that thing?" He asked weakly as the huge purple beast loomed over them. It was just as big as Ursula was when she had used the trident to make herself grow. Sora activated Scan.

"That's Behemoth. His attacks are quite powerful, yet infrequent. Just be careful." He warned. "Right." Ranma nodded. "Wind!" Sora called, letting the Aeroga spell settle around all three of them. And he soon took off for the sky.

"What's his weak spot?" Yami called as he summoned three nameless monsters and sacrificed them for one of his god monsters. The Wing Dragon of Ra.

**Wing Dragon of Ra**

**ATK/??**

**DEF/??**

Sora had to dodge one of Behemoth's lightning attacks before he could answer Yami. "His horn!" He called down. "Wing Dragon of Ra, attack the Behemoth's horn with your rage!"

Sora and Ranma stared in awe at the huge golden sphinx slash dragon like creature opened its mouth and spewed out a huge stream of golden flames.

Sora sweat dropped as he watched through Scan that Behemoth's health dropped to zero. With only one attack.

"Impressive."

Was all he said as Yami blushed when he called back his monster.

/line break/

The group was thrown out of the Dark Depths and Sora had a feeling that there wouldn't be any problems with sealing Hollow Bastion up now. "Now, let's seal that Keyhole up!" Said Ranma. "Sora, you did it." Said a voice. Sora whirled around.

"Leon!"

Standing behind them, was Leon, Cid, Yuffie and Aerith.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ranma asked curiously. "We came here in Cid's ship." Said Yuffie. "This is our childhood home. We wanted to see it again." Aerith said softly. Leon looked around sadly.

"It's in worse shape than I feared. It used to be so peaceful." He said sadly. "Don't worry. If we defeat Ansem. Everything should return be restored. Including your island, Sora." Aerith said suddenly. Sora perked up. "Really?" He asked, eagerly.

"But, it also means saying good-bye." Yuffie said sadly.

"Once the worlds are restored, they'll be separate again." Aerith explained. "Everyone will go back to where they came from." Yuffie added. "Then I'll just visit you guys with the gummi ship." Sora said stubbornly.

"It's not that simple." Said Leon.

"Before all this, you three didn't know about the other worlds?" Yuffie asked. Ranma and Yami shook their heads, Sora remained quiet.

"Because every world was isolated, impassable walls were divided." Said Aerith. "And when the Heartless invaded the worlds, they destroyed those walls." Yuffie added in. "But, if the worlds return...so do the walls."

"Which means gummi ships will be useless." Leon said flatly.

"So, you're saying we'll never..." Sora trailed off, sadly.

"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other." Leon said softly. "No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again." Aerith said sweetly. "Besides, I could never forget about you. Even if I wanted too." Sora narrowed his eyes. "What's that suppose to mean?!" He demanded.

"Sora!" Yami called. "You better close the keyhole, quick!" Ranma yelped. Sora turned and raised Ultima up and sealed Hallow Bastion's Keyhole. "Sora, good luck." Said Leon as the trio ran back to the Castle Chapel, where the other Princesses of Kingdom Hearts, waited.

"Thank you Sora." Alice said, warmly. "I think the darkness has begun to weaken." Sora was quiet. "But, I can feel a powerful darkness growing far away from here." Jasmine whispered.

"It's the heart of darkness." Aurora said softly. "That must be where Ansem went." Sora frowned. "Then we'll take the gummi ship and deal with both Ansem and the Heartless." Cinderella smiled gently. "A worthy answer Keyblade Master."

"Sora, your courage can bring back our worlds." Snow White told him. "Once the darkness is gone, all should return to normal." Explained Aurora. "Kairi will be back on the island?" Sora questioned. "As should you." Said Cinderella. "I can't go home until I find Riku and the king." Sora whispered.

They hopped onto the Gummi ship and made their way to the final world.

The End of The World....

....and the Heartless with it....

/line break/

Well?


	16. The Defeat of Ansem

A/N: Here is the slightly revised Chapter

**/blah/ **Driger to Rei

/blah/ Rei to Driger

Disclaimer: Look in Prologue

_**Epilogue**_

Back in Traverse Town, Merlin had granted them access to his magical cauldron. Everyone was there, save for Cid, Aerith, Yuffie and Leon. No one had any idea where those four were. Merlin had a suspicion that they were back at Hollow Bastion for some reason.

Oliver peered over the cauldron and watched as the huge Gummi Ship dove and dodged the Heartless ships with perfect ease. "I never knew that Sora was such an excellent pilot." He mused. "They're coming to their last world. And unfortunately, it will be their toughest yet." Merlin said heavily as they looked at him with fear in their eyes.

"Please be okay, Sora." Mariah prayed worriedly.

/line break/

Sora brought the Gummi Ship to a halt at the sight of their final destination. It was a massive ball of light purple energy with black mist swirling it. "What's the name of this world?" Ranma asked, shivering as his senses picked up the massive amounts of darkness this world was producing.

"According to this," Yami began, leaning over the main data base. "It's known as the End of The World." He sighed. "Lovely name." He said sarcastically. Sora shuddered. "Come on. Let's get this over with." He said uneasily as they disembarked.

/line break/

The trio walked out form under the cavern that the Rest Point dropped them off at and were looking out into an endless glass field. "This place gives me the creeps." Ranma said uneasily. Sora was quiet.

"Is something bothering you Sora?" Yami asked in concern. Sora sighed heavily as he looked at the two with sad eyes.

"It's just that," he began. "when this is over, the worlds will go back to the way they were. Yuffie and the others were right."

"Let's keep moving you guys." Ranma said after a heavy pause. Sora nodded in agreement. "You're right." They started to walk forward until a large black ball dropped onto them, sending them to some weird pocket dimension....full of Heartless! One breed looked like a mini version of Darkside, only with devil horns and wielded a huge broad blue sword. While the other looked like a clear cone like creature with four white angelic looking wings. But there was nothing angelic about this Heartless.

"The Darkside look-alike's are Invisibles. While the other is the Angelstars." Sora said grimily. While they had been in the Gummi Ship, Sora taught Yami the rest of the high level magic that he knew. At least, this way, Yami could keep up with the Keybearer.

"Force!" Sora yelled, casting the Graviga spell. Yami repeated for the other Invisibles. "Ranma, only physical attacks can wipe out the Angelstars!" Sora called as he and Yami had to dodge the swipe of an Invisible. Ranma nodded in agreement. "Got ya!" He called back and let loose with a vicious kick to the Angelstars chests.

Soon, all of them were going up in smoke and crystallized hearts were flying off. Instantly, they were transported back and a green treasure chest appeared. Sora tapped the chest and a small Power Up appeared. Sora pocketed it.

Unfortunately, they were forced to do this six more times. And one time was with another Behemoth. But the massive purple beast stood no chance against their combined power. In front of them, after they defeated the last group of Invisibles, were six stone pillars. And the pillars were also surrounding a massive ball of pale purplish light that swirled and glittered brightly.

"We have to go through there." Sora said, pointing to the ball of energy.

Shrugging, they went through.

/line break/

Back in Traverse Town, the Demolition Boys were interrogating Merlin. "What do you mean this will be their toughest journey yet, old man?" Tala growled. Merlin held up his hands in defense. "It's just as I said. Sora will be forced to confront his greatest of enemies."

Say WHAT?!

/line break/

All around the trio of heros were sparkling stones that would change colors. "What are those things?" Yami asked curiously. Sora smiled.

"Those are Gummi's." He explained. "We're in a garden of gummi of some kind." He explained. "How the hell do we get down from this cliff?" Ranma grumbled, peering over the side. "It sure looks like a long way down." He continued softly.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Remember Neverland?" He asked. Yami and Ranma nodded. "Yes. but, what does that have to do with anything?" Yami questioned. Sora smiled. "You guys can fly." He pointed out.

Ranma and Yami both felt like idiots for not thinking of that. "I feel like an idiot." Ranma mumbled, cheeks a light rosy pink. Sora chuckled at his response. "Just jump and glide down towards the bottom gently." Sora chided, as he jumped into the air and glided down where a glowing crater stood on the very bottom. "Drop through." He called as he jumped into the crater and vanished.

The two followed.

Albeit hesitantly.

/line break/

Merlin peered into his cauldron and paled when he saw where exactly the teens had landed. "Oh my, this doesn't look good." He murmured. Lee peered inside and gulped. Somehow, Sora, Ranma and Yami were standing on the middle of a stone pillar. A purple shaft of light was blasting from the ground. "Why's the light purple?" He asked dumbly.

"Right now, the Keybearer and his friends are at the place where all Heartless can access all worlds. And the purple light means a sealed world." Merlin said hastily. Max watched; helplessly, as Sora and the two who had chosen to remain with him, go through the purple light and vanish from their views. "Where'd they go?" He asked worriedly. Merlin waved his wand and muttered some words and soon, an image appeared. One that all of them knew very well.

The trio had landed in the Third District of Traverse Town.

But how?

/line break/

Ranma looked around of the closed off Third District. "How did we get back to Traverse Town?" He asked in wonder. Sora frowned, holding Ultima. "We didn't. We're still in the World Terminus at the End of the World. This isn't the real Traverse Town." He said grimily.

Yami turned to face him with an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?" He asked. Sora sighed. "Look, so far there hasn't been any attack, right?" They nodded. And Sora continued.

"Well, if we had been in Traverse Town, we would've been attacked right away." He said dryly. Sora then looked up, his Scan visor activating on its own. "Spoke to soon." He muttered. All around them were Large Body's, Air Soldier's, Shadows and Soldiers.

They were in big trouble.

"We're surrounded." Yami said grimily, as they were forced into a corner. Sora shook his head. "I don't think so." He said quietly as his body and the Keyblade were bathed in a golden light. Ranma and Yami exchanged looks. They knew what Sora was about to do.

"POWER!" Sora yelled.

Sora leapt into the air, and brought the Keyblade down onto the ground. Right underneath where the Keyblade had touched, was a magic circle that was glowing a soft pearly white. Above him, a ball of pure magical white energy gathered. Before it unleashed itself in a blast that wiped out every Heartless in their area.

Sora knelt down, a similar white glow dying around him. "That was a little too much on the powerful side." He mumbled, before swallowing an Elixir.

"Uh, how do we get out of here?" Yami asked, after he checked to make sure Sora was alright. Sora pointed to the doors that would have lead to the First District. "That door should take us back to that crater we were in earlier." He commented.

They stepped through and returned to the same pillar. This time, they went through the blue light on the other end and went through that pillars purple light and wounded up in...

/line break/

Wonderland!

They landed down in the clock area that was outside the Bizarre Room. Instantly, Green Requiems, Yellow Operas and Red Nocturnes appeared. "Defense!" Sora cried. The barrier went up and Yami choose to activate his magic card Dark Hole. The elemental Heartless screeched in pain as they were drawn into the black hole and were crushed instantly.

And to get back, they went through the door that would normally have lead to the Bizarre room. And were transported back to the craters.

The same thing happened as they were transported to Olympus Coliseum, the Deep Jungle, Agrabah, Atlantica, Halloween Town, and finally Neverland. Each of a different area that they knew to be in their respective world. Each getting a copy of one of Sora's rare items. They hopped through the last blue light, which lead them to a shaft shooting red flames. Instead of the normal purple.

Very odd.

With a shrug, they hopped through and crashed onto a cold, hard stone floor in the middle of a hallway.

Sora started walking down the hallway, until a bunch of Invisibles attacked. "You think you guys can keep them busy while I check out that machine in that room?" Sora called, pointing to a hole in the wall. Both Ranma and Yami nodded and went forward. Hopefully they could buy Sora a little time. Sora ran into the room and inspected the huge machine in there. His eyes widen as he saw the Heartless insignia upon it.

This was it.

This was the machine used to create the artificial Heartless. Only Shadows and Darkside were natural Heartless. All of the other breeds were artificial and created by Ansem.

"My god..." He whispered. "What is it? What's wrong?" Yami asked as they caught up with him. They had deposited of the Invisibles. "This machine...Ansem used it to create the other breeds of the Heartless..." Sora said weakly. Ranma was confused. "Huh?" Was all he said. Sora sighed.

"Only the Shadows and Darkside are natural Heartless. All of the others are artificial." He explained.

"Oh."

/line break/

Back in Traverse Town, all of the Beyblading teams were stunned when they heard that announcement. "That machine creates Heartless?" Kenny squeaked. Mariah looked up to Merlin with huge brown eyes. "That's not all of it, is it?" She asked fearfully. Merlin sadly nodded.

"I'm afraid it has yet to begun."

/line break/

Sora quickly leapt through the black hole that lead them to the hallway and they reappeared in the crater. Only, the red pillar had vanished. Sora took in a deep breath. "We got ourselves a real nasty one coming up." He said grimily. "We're with you all the way Sora." Ranma said quietly, placing his hand on Sora's shoulder.

Sora smiled.

/line break/

Right after jumping into the blue vortex pit that the red pillar of flames left behind, Ranma and Yami knew they were in big trouble. Sora hissed softly, sounding very much like a tiger when he did that. For a huge, black devil like demon was sitting upon a volcano.

"Chernabog!" Sora hissed, furiously. He quickly cast Aeroga, protecting all three for a short while. Scan stayed active this time. "It seems only thunder and fire magic have an devastating effects on him." He explained, getting the information he needed. Swirling around them, was gold pixie dust. Just like the way they flew in Neverland.

Sora and Yami exchanged looks and pointed their weapons at the giant demon. Ranma gripped his shield tight, ready for anything. Both teens were bathed in a fiery reddish orange light and both called out the name of the spell at the same time.

"FIRAGA!"

A huge ball of flames, about the size of a meteor, gathered in front of the two weapons. The Keyblade and the Save the Queen Staff was lifted up before they both brought their respective weapons down and sent the huge fireball flying at Chernabog's chest. Right where his heart was.

Chernabog roared in pain as the combined Firaga spell ripped through him. Ranma sweat dropped as Chernabog slowly disappeared in streams of blue light. Soon, they had an easy access to the volcano. Sora gestured for them to follow through the cavern.

/line break/

**Thud**

Lee winced as he heard Mariah faint from watching Sora and Yami take out Chernabog with their combined fire magic. "That has to hurt." Tyson commented. "Ya think?" Lee asked sarcastically.

With that said, Lee turned back to watch.

/line break/

The gold pixie dust remained around them as Sora lead them to the very bottom of the inactive volcano. Right to where a glowing purple portal was in the ground. "We have to keep moving forward." Sora urged, as he stepped onto the portal and was transported to a pocket dimension. The duo followed him.

The room seemed to lead them on a path where a world's destruction had been stopped in motion. Two more rooms before them had the same fate. Each room carried an even greater destruction and causing more pain and grief to rise up in the Keybearer and his friends.

"How can any race do such a thing?" Yami whispered, looking about the dead trees and the black skies. "I don't know Yami. I honestly don't know." Sora said softly as they came to a floating portal in the wall. Sora leapt into it with them following and into even more trouble. The room was bare with huge purple walls and a pale green floor. Across from them was the Heartless crest engraved upon the flesh like walls. "We have to break it down." Ranma guessed.

"But how?" Came from Yami.

Sora blinked and turned around and sweat dropped. "Um, maybe by taking care of them first?" He asked dryly, pointing. Curious, Ranma and Yami turned before sweat dropping at the sights.

Angelstars and Invisibles.

Lots of them, too.

Ranma sighed in exasperation. "Can't ya guys give us a break, just once?" He groaned as he summoned the Save the King shield and powered up to only a third of his maximum power. The icy blue glow of his confidence bathed him as he glared at the two breeds of Heartless. Yami then summoned the Dark Magician. For he too, was getting tired of fighting Angelstars and Invisibles.

"Dark Magician, Dark Magic attack!" Yami ordered, pointing to the Invisibles. The humanoid monster nodded and held out his hand. Right before a massive blast of dark energy shot out and shattered the Invisibles into nothing. Ranma just threw out a wave of pure raw blue ki out which wiped the Angelstars into nothing.

The second the last Heartless burst into dust and the last crystallized heart flew away, the Heartless Crest shattered. Revealing a hidden room inside this creepy cavern.

Very unusual.

Sitting around the tiny room were various shades of Gummi pieces and a Rest Point in front of them. Sora stepped onto the Rest Point and smiled as he felt his energy restore back to its normal levels. Ranma and Yami were also revived. In front of them, loomed an eerily familiar door to only Sora.

The door looked like it belonged to an eighteenth century chapel made of cherry wood with jewels decorating it. Sora bit his lips. It was the same door from his dreams before the Heartless ever attacked Destiny Islands. It would seem his dream was connected somehow. Sora stepped forward and blinked. "Huh?" He looked around, curiously.

"What's the matter?" Yami asked in concern. "Don't you hear something?" Sora asked, more like demanded. "There!"

_Careful. This is the last safe haven you'll find here. Beyond there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapon of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light._

Yami and Ranma blinked in confusion. For they couldn't hear anything. "I don't hear anything." Ranma said softly. Sora frowned. "Strange...I know I heard that voice before. But where?" He wondered. "Maybe you better rest!" Said Yami. Sora shook his head. "No. I'll be fine." He said quietly.

The door suddenly began to slid open and bright white light flooded out, blinding them. "Can't see!" Ranma cried. "It's too bright!" Yami yelped.

/line break/

In Traverse Town, the gang was stunned. "I just hope Sora will be okay." Max said worriedly as the light even blocked them from seeing anything. "Me too Maxie." Said Tyson.

"Me too."

/line break/

When the light cleared and that they could see again, the trio realized they were no longer in the tiny room of the volcano. Sora paled. Yami and Ranma looked around in awe at the tropical Island. It was paradise here. "Sora...?" Yami trailed off, seeing his skin grow pale with shock.

"Is this...is this my island?" Sora stammered.

Say WHAT?!

Ranma and Yami gaped. This paradise of an island with clear blue skies and crystal blue water was Sora's home world? Sora looked behind them to the back of the island where the jungle was and began running up the beach, past the dried up waterfall and to where Sora knew the hidden entrance to the cavern was.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble as if a terrible earthquake was hitting them. The mini-island where the papou tree used to be, disappeared.

"_**This world has been connected."**_

"What was that?" Ranma asked in alarm. The beach then developed tremendous cracks. The jungle leaves became a purplish black on the trees and the beautiful sea blue color became a rather violent shade of purple.

"_**Tied to the darkness...soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort."**_

Sora could only watch; helplessly as Destiny Islands became withered and ripped by the darkness of the Heartless. Ranma and Yami shivered from the pure darkness the island was now giving off.

"_**One who knows nothing, can understand nothing."**_

The island was completely torn apart by the Heartless energy. And for some reason, Riku appeared at the end of the shore. Having a bad feeling about everything, the trio made their way towards him. Only to discover that the one talking was not Riku at all. But Ansem.

"Take a look at this tiny place." Sora, Ranma and Yami got into battle stances, ready for anything that he would throw at them. "To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison surrounded by water." He chuckled darkly. "And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought away to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness." Riku turned before shifting into someone very familiar. Long silver hair, tan skin, a lean muscular figure, and cold red orange eyes.

An open white vest that reached his knees and revealed his muscular abs, black leather jeans, black knee high boots, a black sleeved white leather trench coat, silver gloves. And the Heartless crest over his heart.

Ansem's true form.

"Riku!" Sora cried.

Ansem smirked. "Don't bother brat. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. He once again belongs to darkness!" He sneered.

"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature." He suddenly vanished, and reappeared behind the shocked trio. "In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see," Ansem clenched his right hand tightly. "darkness is the heart's true essence."

Sora shook his head furiously. "That's not true!" He yelled. "The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!" The Keybearer said softly. Ansem shook his head, as if disappointed.

"So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing." Uneasiness settled in all three heros stomachs. "Every light must fade, every heart returns to darkness!" Ansem yelled, and to their horror, some kind of shadow guardian appeared right behind Ansem with an evil little smile.

The demonic guardian was pure black except for the blue veins in its face, glowing yellow eyes and a whole set of needle point teeth. It seemed to have white leather belts crossing its chest in an "x" manner.

Suddenly, the guardian began throwing glowing razor sharp discs at them. "Get out of the way!" Sora yelled, dodging the blast. He kept rolling from left to right, and somehow by some miracle, avoided being sliced to ribbons. Since Ansem remained hovering over them, getting to him would be a bit tricky.

Sora jumped into the air, avoiding the guardian's claws in an attempt to drain his life energy. "Submit!" Ansem growled. Sora shook his head. "Not on your life!" He yelled. Sora started slamming Ultima into Ansem's slim figure repeatedly.

And hard.

Sora watched in satisfaction as Ansem's health dropped rapidly. Yes! Ranma and Yami were a little busy dealing with the dark warrior's guardian to even notice the two decking it out against one another. Ansem suddenly flew back into the jungle, just as the entire island split in half. Ansem hovered in the crater that the island had created. His arms crossed and he appeared to be smirking. Frowning, Sora followed.

However, the second Sora jumped in, an invisible barrier stopped Ranma and Yami from following. "Sora!" Ranma called. The two could only watch in silent horror as Darkside rose from the ground and Sora was forced to face the demonic Heartless alone.

_Just great_, Sora thought unhappily as he continued to Dodge Roll out of harms way. He did, though, keep a constant lock on Darkside's hands. And whenever he got in close enough, he would slash at the hands. Drawing forth thick black blood. After about ten minutes of repeated dodging and slicing, Darkside sank into the ground, his body vanishing without a trace.

But, it was only beginning.

Like before, Ansem was going to be fighting Sora. Only this time, Ranma and Yami couldn't help their friend!

Ansem suddenly blurred and vanished. Sora cursed and looked around wildly for the silver haired man. He was nowhere to be found. _Come on,_ Sora thought. _Where is he - - urk!_ Sora gasped in pain as Ansem slammed him into the hard ground. Sora lied there in a daze.

"Get up Sora!" Yami screamed, banging on the force field. Praying that the brunette could hear him. Sora looked up and flew out of the way of Ansem's zipping back and forth.

"Come. Open your heart." Ansem said coldly, as his body began to glow with an icy blue light. The air around them became thick with darkness. Sora's eyes widen and began to dodge and roll around the crater. And just in time to avoid the guardian that was chasing him with pools of dark magic.

When Ansem stopped glowing, Sora had rolled in just close enough to land some devastating blows to the man. Just enough to cause a flash of blue lightning to separate them.

Suddenly, Destiny Islands exploded into nothing and all three friends were sent flying into endless darkness. Sora looked around wildly. Nothing but pure darkness. "Wha...?" Was all he could say before he heard Ansem speak once more.

"Look as hard as you are able. You'll not even find the smallest glimmer of light." Sora, Ranma and Yami saw that what appeared to be miles away; sitting on pearl white rock was a huge white chapel door. "From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours." Sora gulped.

Rising before them was a mixture of Ansem, his shadow guardian and a giant red demonic machine with a huge face on it. "Darkness conquers all worlds!" Sora's eyes widen as he watched in horror as both Ranma and Yami were thrown into two different portals and he was falling into the endless abyss.

"_Giving up already?"_ Whispered Riku's voce in his mind. _"Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."_

Sora flew as high as he could, until he was at eye level with the giant version of Ansem. Golden pixie dust swirling before him. "Think again Ansem!" Sora yelled, holding Ultima. "Think you've won?" Ansem sneered.

"Perhaps this will enlighten you."

Uh-oh.

Sora suddenly had to move up and down to avoid beams of laser being shot from everywhere, but he kept a constant lock onto Ansem's big head. He zoomed in and unleashed a fury of combos to the man's head. But yelped in pain as he got not only slammed by the giant spear that Ansem held, but also by Ansem himself.

"Defense!" Sora yelled.

The barrier of mist swirled around him, and lessened the damage caused by any attacks from Ansem and continued to slam his Keyblade repeatedly into Ansem.

Until...

Ansem groaned in pain before the guardian placed its huge claws over him, shielding him from Sora. And a Heartless crest appeared over him. Sora frowned when he saw a glimmering reddish black portal appear on the red giant machine's face and zoomed in. Sora looked around uneasily. He found himself trapped in a dark room with absolutely no light.

So why was his danger sense telling him he was surrounded by Shadows?

"Driger!" Sora cried. There was a soft green glow coming from his pocket and the majestic white tiger appeared before him. "What is it?" Driger asked in his rich voice. "I keep getting the feeling we're being watched." Sora whispered, clutching the fur of his friend rather tightly.

Driger growled towards the shadows that lingered in this room. When all of a sudden, one hissed at Sora who actually understood its hisses.

"We will not harm one like us. You are free to go child."

Sora raised an eyebrow. He had no idea that the Heartless could talk. Nor did he realize he could actually understand them. He gave a slight nod to them as a glowing red core appeared. Sora only had to slash it once before he was thrown out.

The Keybearer realized that rows of artillery were growing on the safety beams of the World of Chaos. Both big and little were throwing out balls of ice blue fire. Sora had to dodge a couple of times of the Guardian's massive claws, but he terminated the artillery that were covering the red World of Chaos that Ansem had merged with. Now, a second sinister looking portal took their place.

Sora flew into it.

/line break/

The members at Traverse Town only watched in shock as Sora, Ranma and Yami were transported to a familiar tropical island. What was really surprising was what Sora had said.

"_Is this...is this my island?"_

"So, that tropical island is his home." Enrique mused. "It's beautiful." Oliver breathed. They also watched as Riku appeared on the now dying shores of Destiny Islands. Heard the tale that Ansem told, saw Ansem's true form and the destruction of Destiny Islands as Ansem attacked them once more. Only this time, separating Sora from Ranma and Yami.

"Please be careful Sora." They prayed at the same time.

/line break/

"SORA!"

Sora heard Ranma cry his name from within this dark room. Only, Sora had a funny feeling that Shadows weren't in here. But that of Darkballs.

The Keybearer looked around and spotted Ranma having a bit of trouble dealing with the Heartless. He ran forward and brought the Keyblade down in an arc, sending out waves of blue energy. Destroying the Darkballs. Sora and Ranma sweat dropped. "Okay, I think I may have put to much power in that move." Sora said dryly.

"Ya think?" Ranma asked sarcastically as another glowing red core appeared before them. "You can handle this one Ranma." Sora said quietly, backing up a bit.

Ranma only had to slam his shield into it once, and it shattered, sending them flying back out to face the giant red flesh machine like creature that was the World of Chaos. Ranma sweat dropped at the massive fangs coming from the flesh like face. "Please tell me you weren't facing this alone." He pleaded.

Sora nodded.

"Damn."

Sora flew in and to the right to avoid a vicious crunch before delivering furious combos to the creature. "A little help over here!" He called. "Sorry." Ranma mumbled, before flying into help him. He wasn't so lucky as Sora and got a huge chomp through his upper body. He grunted in pain as blood began to dribble down his chest. "Ranma!" Sora tossed a Megalixir into the air, thus, healing Ranma from the massive bite attack.

Ranma then threw a multi-blasts of pure raw ki at it, shutting it down for good. That was when it opened its mouth, revealing a glimmering reddish black portal. Sora and Ranma exchanged looks. Yami had to be there. The two flew inside.

"Sora!" Yami cried out, sensing the two returning and coming to his aide. Yami had summoned Silver Wolf, who was making lunch out of the Invisibles. Sora ran to the spiky haired teenager and knelt before him. He saw numerous cuts and some were even bleeding. He reached in and handed Yami a Mega-Potion. "Drink it." He ordered. Yami did and licked his lips. It tasted faintly of chocolate.

Silver Wolf had taken care of the Invisibles for hurting its master. The silver lupine nuzzled Yami gently before returning to its card form. Yami stood up just as Sora destroyed the glowing red core that spat them out into the World of Chaos once more.

The shield that was protecting the Main Core, disappeared and they could now destroy it once and for all!

"We have to eliminate those artillery first. They can do some major damage if we don't." Sora said grimily, pointing to the wiggling dark blue tings growing underneath the light blue core.

"We can handle those Sora." Said Ranma. "You take care of the core." Yami added as they broke apart. Sora nodded and flew towards the large blue core that had a funny looking skeleton face on it.

Sora started bashing it for about a minute before it shuddered and disappeared. Th artillery instantly faded after one blow. Unfortunately, the seal that was on Ansem broke and the dark warrior was once again revived and he was furious that Sora and his two friends had bested his best Heartless. And he was defiantly not pleased.

"Submit!" He roared so loud, that he startled the trio. "Defense!" Sora cried, making sure that they would be protected.

"Just watch out for that sphere and these lasers that like to show up!" Sora warned as he zoomed in towards Ansem, dodging a lunge from the man. Sora delivered some blows to the man's head, causing him to growl in pain. Ranma held up his shield right as a laser slammed into it. Luckily, he wasn't hurt.

"Mirror Force!" Yami yelled, holding up a pink card.

A shimmering large mirror appeared in front of them, reflecting Ansem's slashes and lasers right back at him, depleting him of all of his energy.

"It can't end like this!" Ansem yelled through his pain.

/line break/

Back in Traverse Town, everyone was cheering. "Yes! Sora did it!" Tyson cheered. "It's over! Ansem doesn't stand a chance!" Max said eagerly. "Hold on." Everyone looked at Lee, curiously.

"What is it?" Ian asked gruffly. "Somehow, I have a feeling it's not over yet." The dark haired teen answered grimily.

Uh-oh.

/line break/

Sora, Ranma and Yami had to shield their eyes as the World of Chaos slowly exploded and the Heartless crest that was on the silver haired man's chest, burned with a blinding white light. The trio were forced back by the explosion and when the light cleared, the Ansem from earlier was there, in great pain.

"It is futile." Said Ansem, breathing heavily. He was gripping his right shoulder tightly. "The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness." He then turned his back on them and faced Kingdom Hearts. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness..." The door slowly slid open and darkness began to pour out. Ansem spread out his arms, as if breathing in the dark mist.

"Supreme darkness..."

That was when Sora realized the truth.

"You're wrong!" He cried. The gold pixie dust swirling around them. "I know now, without a doubt. That Kingdom Hearts...is light!"

The darkness melted into warm white light which washed over the endless black abyss. Ansem gasped out in pain from its purity.

"...light...but why...?" He whispered.

The white light engulfed him before he disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light. After Ansem disappeared, the trio landed down on the hard stone that the door of Kingdom Hearts stood on, and started to push it close. Ranma and Yami were pushing the door on the left and Sora to the right. "Come on!" Sora yelled.

Ranma took a peek in and gasped. Yami saw this and grew annoyed. "Stop staring and keep pushing!" He growled. He then followed Ranma's gaze and paled.

Thousands of Shadows.

"The Heartless!?"

Yami started pushing harder. "Hurry!" He cried. "I can't..." Sora whispered. He was straining his muscles. Suddenly, a pair of strong hands started to pull from the inside. Sora was very surprised.

"_Don't give up!"_

It was Riku.

The _real_ Riku.

"Come on, Sora. Together, I know we can do it!" Sora nodded in agreement. "Right." He started pushing with everything he got. Behind Riku, rose two Darkside's.

Huh?

Suddenly, the Darkside's burst into purplish black dust and Ranma saw a child like figure jump onto one of the hills behind the door. And the figure spoke in a musical voice and held up a _second_ Keyblade.

"Now, Sora." The figure began in a very soft male voice. "Let's close this door for good!" Yami was starting to tire. "Close it, quick!" He groaned. "But..." Sora trailed off. That would mean the two would be sealed behind the door. "Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light." Riku gave Sora a sad look, knowing the truth. "Ranma, Yami, thank you for helping Sora." Said the one Sora knew to be King Mickey. The duo were surprised that the King knew their names. The door was beginning to close. And before it did, Riku gave Sora one last small smile.

"Take care of her."

Sora nodded and the door finally closed. He leapt back and held up the Kingdom Keyblade over his head. Blue light and tiny gold stars swirled around the tip. Inside Kingdom Hearts, Mickey raised his in the same way and the exact same light and stars swirled around his own Keyblade. Back outside, the door began to emit a soft blue light before slowly disappearing from their sights.

Hm?

Sora turned and was surprised to see Kairi standing only ten feet away from them. She was looking around in confusion. Sora ran to her. Yami made a move as if to follow, but was stopped by Ranma who shook his head. Both knew that deep down in their hearts, this may be the last time Sora would ever see Kairi. Behind them, a white light was beginning to grow.

/line break/

Kairi stepped back slightly, for the ground under her feet was beginning to turn into sand. "Kairi!" She looked up to see Sora running to her. "Sora!" His bluish white eyes were wide. Suddenly, the ground gave a lurch and Kairi stumbled, but Sora caught her hand.

"Remember what you told me before?" He asked. "I'm always with you too!" He was beginning to loose his grip on her. "I promise I'll come back to you!" That was when he lost her grip. Her eyes were wide as she realized everything now. "I know you will!" She called mournfully.

_When you walk away_

Sora's eyes were wide as he watched her drift away from him, he reached out a hand, as if to reassure himself that she would not be going anywhere.

_You don't hear me say please_

Now, she was moving farther and farther away from him. She sighed and lowered her hands, knowing it was futile.

_Oh baby, don't go_

The two soulmates felt their hearts break into two as if they knew this would be the last time they would see each other and they wanted to treasure each precious moment of it.

_Simple and clean is the way your making me feel tonight_

That was when a miracle occurred.

_It's hard to let go_

A tiny glimmer of light dropped into her cupped hands.

_You're giving me too many things_

Kairi looked up, prussian blue eyes wide as millions of tiny glimmers of light fell from the endless black abyss that was over their heads.

_Lately you're all I need_

From where he was standing, Sora straighten and looked around in amazement at the glimmering lights. How was this possible?

_You smiled at me and said,_

Kairi whirled around, just as the tropical coconut trees began to spring up from the ground as well as more tropical trees of the jungle of Destiny Islands.

_Don't get me wrong I love you_

Sora was starting to fade from her sights and she struggled to keep her eyes on him as more glimmering lights fell and crystal blue water lapped at her feet.

_But does that mean I have to meet your father?_

Kairi stepped back as the warm ocean continued to lap at her feet until Sora was completely gone and over the ocean she could see a glowing ball of blue flames.

_When we are older you'll understand_

Her eyes widen in awe as millions of blue lights shot out of the ball of blue flames and arched into the midnight blue skies.

_What I meant when I said, "No,_

She watched as the blue lights became tiny stars. Then she knew what had to have happened.

_I don't think life is quiet that simple"_

Every world that had been swallowed and destroyed by the Heartless had been restored to their rightful glory.

_When you walk away_

Kairi gave a slow, sad smile. Thinking of the worlds that Sora had visited, being healed by the darkness. Friends and families were being reunited.

_You don't hear me say please_

Kairi would wait for Sora. She would wait as long as she could. Waiting for the door to open once more and the ability to travel to the other worlds once more.

_Oh baby, don't go_

She could hear the sounds of the waves splashing onto the sandy beach and gave a sad smile. Everything was back to normal.

_Simple and clean is the way your making me feel tonight_

The following morning, Kairi once again stood on the beaches of Destiny Islands. Seagulls flew in the clear skies and the warm salty sea air was about.

_The daily things that kept us all busy_

Kairi walked down the long path, past the waterfall and into the hidden cave at the base of the oldest living tree on the island.

_Are confusing me_

She entered and was instantly greeted by the years of cave drawings. Sunlight filtered through the only hole in the cave, which was above her head.

_That's when you came to me and said,_

Kairi smiled, and put her hands behind her back as she slowly began to inspect the drawings left behind.

_Wish I could prove I love you_

She brushed her hands along the drawing of a bunch of playing cards and smiled. These drawings always did make her smile.

_But does that mean I have to walk on water?_

She continued to inspect the drawings, that is, until she came to a drawing that she and Sora did when they had been six. It was a crude drawing of their faces.

_When we are older you'll understand_

Someone had drawn a papou fruit. It now showed Sora giving the papou fruit to her. She settled on her knees; eyes wide as she gently touched the drawing. In her mind, she saw a fourteen year old Sora drawing the papou fruit on the wall with a rock. He turned and grinned at her before his form flickered out in a twinkling of sparkling white dust.

_It's enough when I say so_

Thick, pearly white tears started to trickle down her face and she slowly began to inscript a second papou fruit into the drawing. It now showed them both giving a papou fruit to each other.

_And maybe some things are that simple_

/line break/

_When you walk away_

"Ranma?" Came a concern voice. Ranma blinked away the blinding light that had filled his vision and was looking into the concerned brown eyes of the oldest sister of his uncute fiancé; Kasumi Tendo. "Kasumi?" He asked groggily.

_You don't hear me say please_

The young woman smiled pleasantly. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes." She told him before returning to the house. Ranma blinked in confusion.

_Oh baby, don't go_

The last thing Ranma remembered before the bright light, was Sora sealing Kingdom Hearts at the World of Chaos.

_Simple and clean is the way your making me feel tonight_

Was everything with the Heartless, traveling to other worlds, and even Sora, just a dream? Ranma shook his head, and placed a hand over his heart. "If it was, then why did it feel so real?" He whispered. And why did it feel like he had a hole in his heart?

Ranma yelped as something appeared in his hands in a glimmer of silvery violet dust and light. Resting in his hands was the **Save the King** shield.

_It's hard to let go_

Ranma Saotome smiled, but his smile faded.

What could he do about Sora?

With a sad smile, he slipped into the Tendo home, found a piece of paper and scribbled a quick letter. He looked up to see a shimmering silvery blue portal. With a look of determination, he jumped through.

Minutes later, it would be Akane who would find the letter and wailing it out to her family for what Ranma had written:

_To whoever finds this note,_

_I'm sorry about leaving you guys behind, but you may not remember anything with the Heartless appearing, but my friend Sora needs my help. And I promised him I wouldn't abandon him. So, it looks like good-bye for now._

_-Ranma_

/line break/

_Hold me_

"Yami?" Asked a sleepy voice. The ancient spirit had to blink his ruby red eyes as a light had blinded him for a minute and Yami found himself star gazing and it was well past midnight. He looked over to his smaller counterpart Yugi. Yugi was watching with sleepy violet eyes.

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

"Yes, Yugi?" Yami asked politely. Yugi looked at his dark half with an unreadable look upon his face.

_Is a little later on_

"Is everything okay?" Yugi took a deep breath. "I mean, you've been pretty quiet since we defeated Marik a couple of days ago." Inwardly, Yami was surprised. Two days ago? To Yami, it had been several weeks ago.

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

"Everything is alright Yugi. I was merely thinking." Said Yami. Yugi shrugged and decided he could get more out of Yami later and fell back to sleep. Yami sighed. Yugi did not need to know what laid with true darkness.

But, was everything but a dream?

Yami was stunned as a familiar purple staff appeared in his lap in a twinkle of sparkling gold dust. The **Save the Queen** staff.

_Nothing's like before_

Yami glanced over to Yugi's sleeping form and sighed. There was no way he could abandon Sora after everything they went through with the Heartless. The ancient spirit looked up to see a shimmering dark purple portal hovering nearby. He wrote a short, but simple letter for Yugi and disappeared into the portal.

The moonlight highlighted the letter. It read:

_Dear Yugi,_

_I am truly sorry by leaving you. But a very dear friend of mine, needs my help. And I know he can't fight this battle himself. Someday, I will come back. Until then, good-bye little one._

_-Yami_

/line break/

_When you walk away_

The beybladers had to shield their eyes from the bright light that Merlin's cauldron emitted. And when it cleared, they were greeted by a stunned sight.

_You don't hear me say please_

Tyson rubbed his eyes, just to make sure he was seeing right. "Guys, we're back at the beystadium!" He yelled.

_Oh baby, don't go_

"What?!" Emily shrieked, looking around. "H-how?" Max stammered, overwhelmed by the mere fact that they were in their world once more.

_Simple and clean is the way your making me feel tonight_

"When Sora sealed Kingdom Hearts," Kenny began as they glanced at him. "the worlds must have been restored they way they were before."

_It's hard to let go_

"Then this must be hurting Sora the most." Mariah whispered. "The links between the worlds are closed. He can't get through anymore." Lee said sadly, knowing he may never see his best friend again.

_Hold me_

That was when Enrique thought of something. "Uh, what exactly are we suppose to tell everyone?" He asked uneasily.

_Whatever lies beyond this morning _

The group exchanged uneasy looks. What could they tell the BBA about one Rei Kon/Sora? They couldn't exactly explain the outer worlds and the Heartless without sounding completely crazy.

_Is a little later on_

"We simply tell everyone that Rei went on a training journey and we're not sure when he'll come back." Kenny decided.

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

"Alright. But, what about the final match?" Tala asked. "They are going to want a winner after all." He pointed out dryly.

_Nothing's like before_

Kenny was stumped. He gave a weak shrug. "I don't know." He admitted. A heavy pause rang through the air.

_Hold me_

That was when Bryan spoke up. "I think the Bladebreakers should be the ones to take the championships." He said suddenly and everyone turned to look at him in utter shock. "What?" He asked, hotly.

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

"I know it sounds stupid. But, I feel that they were meant to win." He said quietly. Tala raised an eyebrow at this.

_Is a little later on_

"Somehow Bryan, I think you are right." He mused. "Seems you win this championship Tyson." Ian conceded. "We'll be ready to fight you guy in the next tournament." Said Spencer.

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

Tyson looked up and met Tala's sapphire eyes before grinning wildly at the leader of the Demolition Boys.

_Nothing's like before_

"You're on."

/line break/

At Disney Castle, Queen Minnie and her companion Daisy; watched as the two little chipmunks Chip and Dale, pointed out the return of Huey, Dewey, Louie. She smiled. Having a feeling that her husband did succeed on his mission.

But, where was he?

/line break/

In Hollow Bastion, Leon, Aerith and Yuffie were standing about in the library when Cid came in with a shy Cloud. Aerith came over and smiled warmly at him.

/line break/

And on Destiny Islands, Selphie was chasing Wakka and Tidus down the sandy white beaches. Their laughter ringing in the air. All was right in the world.

/line break/

Sora found himself walking down an endless dirt road. Surrounding him were endless green fields and countless pine trees. Surprisingly enough, walking on both sides of him were Ranma Saotome and Yami.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked, amazed. The two exchanged smiles. "We realized we couldn't let you go alone, Sora." Yami began. Ranma grinned. "Yeah, so we're sticking with you to the very end!" Sora smiled. "Thanks you two." He said shyly.

"So, uh, now what do we do?" Yami asked nervously as they walked for awhile. "We have to find Riku and King Mickey." Sora said cheerfully. "But, where do we start looking for that there door to the light?" Ranma questioned. Coming upon this impossible question, all three sighed heavily before a golden dog walked along their path.

"Huh?"

Sora saw that it was Pluto and it was carrying a letter from King Mickey in his mouth. "Who's that?" Yami questioned. "It's Pluto. Do you know where Riku and King Mickey are?" Sora asked eagerly.

Pluto perked its ears up before bounding down the path. With a smile, Sora stepped forward, before gesturing to the grinning duo. "You guys, let's go!" He called. Sora started chasing Pluto, laughing. And a chuckling Ranma and Yami followed.

_Remember Sora,_

_You are the one who_

_Will open the door to the light._

The End (?)


End file.
